


All Shook Up

by louisnights



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: (as in they don't use condoms), (it might sound scary but i swear it's not), 18-Year-Old Harry Styles, 1960's AU, 20-Year-Old Louis Tomlinson, Bottom Louis, First Time, Fluff, Forbidden Love, Greaser Louis, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Mechanic Louis, Oral Sex, Period-Typical Homophobia, Secret Relationship, Singer Harry, Smut, Strangers to Lovers, Summer Love, Top Harry, Unsafe Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-12
Updated: 2019-03-23
Packaged: 2019-11-16 07:19:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 23,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18089891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/louisnights/pseuds/louisnights
Summary: Louis is a mechanic who's always worked for his uncle during the summer, this one's no different. One night after work he goes out to a bar, where he meets Harry. The curly haired boy with the most alluring voice that brings forwards all those desires he's always tried to hide.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic has been a year in the making!
> 
> I am super excited to share it, and I am very proud of myself for actually writing it! I would love to thank my beta, Ri, for offering to look through it for me, ily!
> 
> I will add tags as I'm posting each chapter. 
> 
> There's use of Polari & sixties slang in this fic, and at the end of each chapter i'll put the translations for those words/phrases.

**Saturday, July 2nd, 1966**

One of the pipes was digging hard into Louis’ back. The stall was small but, despite his claustrophobia, he didn’t care. He couldn’t, not when  he was making out with a guy. A very hot guy. He didn’t know why it felt so good. He knew it was supposed to be wrong but it was too good to stop. He didn’t even know why he let himself get into this position, this entirely dangerous position. He couldn’t bring himself to regret it as Harry peppered wet kisses along his jaw and down his neck. He didn’t really know Harry, only that he was a singer with a killer voice, who had bought him a beer at the bar earlier.

\---

Louis hopped off his motorcycle and made his way into the bar. It was relatively empty, except for the band setting up the stage. He found a seat at the bar and ordered a beer, hoping that the bartender would let it slide. Although he gave him a funny look, he ultimately decided to overlook his age and serve him alcohol. Louis was aware he didn’t look old enough to drink, but as long as he didn’t strike up much of a conversation and tipped well, the bartenders often turned a blind eye.

He settled in his seat, as he was waiting for the show to start. He’d seen a couple of flyers about this bar hosting live gigs and he’d been dying to attend at least one show. Music was his secret passion. He couldn’t let any of his mates from school know he was so passionate about anything art related, especially music. Music wasn’t considered a valid career for anyone, let alone a popular greaser like himself. Luckily, being away from home could come in handy when his mates weren’t there to bug him about it. 

A guy about his age walked onto the stage holding a white guitar. He ran a hand through his short curls before he got busy tuning his guitar, his big hands touching the chords delicately. He was wearing blue jeans, black boots and a black shirt buttoned up halfway. Louis had never seen anyone wear their button-up like that before, but the guy could pull it off, as he looked very handsome.

Louis shook the thought away and swallowed a big gulp of his beer. He needed to remind himself more and more each day to avoid those inappropriate thoughts. He couldn’t be like  _ that _ . He wasn’t allowed to be queer. He would get killed if he was caught so much as thinking about blokes in anything other than a friendly manner. He chunked down the rest of the beer in one go and ordered a second. 

_ Well, since my baby left me _ __  
_ Well, I found a new place to dwell _ __  
_ Well, it's down at the end of lonely street _ _  
_ ___At Heartbreak Hotel_ __

Louis’ breath was knocked out of him as soon as the bloke’s voice filled the small space. Was it possible to find another person’s voice attractive? Louis decided to take a break from these thoughts by going to the bathroom. He took some time to splash some water on his face and take a deep breath. He needed to calm down before he got a hard-on just because of a boy’s voice. He’d been so careful before, never letting his guard down to get this affected by men. He usually just brushed it off and dug his attraction towards men deep down, in his bones and hidden. Hoping that hiding it made it less real. He splashed some more water to his face and returned to the bar. 

_ You make me so lonely baby _ __  
_ Well, I'm so lonely _ _  
_ ___I get so lonely I could die_ __

Louis found himself entranced by the lyrics. They seeped into his bones and stayed there. He related to them maybe a little too much. He knew he was gonna be lonely his whole life. He had tried being with girls but the most he had done was make out with a couple. He tried once to go further and found himself freaking out when the only thing that could get him hard was the thought of getting fucked by Marlon Brando. Needless to say he didn’t have sex that night. He’d broken up with the girl the day after that incident and avoided dating again like it was the plague. He let his friends  believe she broke up with him, breaking his heart in the process. 

When the song was over, the singer rushed to the stool on the stage. He picked up a bottle that was rested on top of it and took a few sips of water. Louis watched intensely as his throat bobbed as he swallowed. He was internally freaking out over this man and he hadn’t even properly met him. The bloke put his water back down and cleared his throat. How could someone clearing his throat look and sound so sexy?

“I’m Harry Styles and I’ve got one more song for you tonight, it’s gonna be another Elvis cover, I’m afraid it’s a phase I’m going through,” he chuckled alongside the small crowd. “Thank you for listening. This is  _ All Shook Up _ .”

_ A well'a bless my soul _ __  
_ What'sa wrong with me? _ __  
_ I'm itchin' like a man in a fuzzy tree _ __  
_ My friends say I'm actin' wild as a bug _ __  
_ I'm in love _ _  
_ ___I'm all shook up_ __

Louis was so shaken by the singer’s,  _ Harry’s _ , voice that he had to get up and run back into the bathroom. He couldn’t get caught staring so much. He couldn’t risk people seeing his face right now, he knew his eyes were filled with lust. Lust that he felt towards a boy. A boy with the hottest voice he’d ever heard. He didn’t know how long he’d been standing there, in front of the mirror, glaring at his own reflection. He sighed and walked to the first urinal, only now realizing how much he needed to pee. He had had two beers after all. 

Someone walked into the bathroom and stood right in front of the urinal next to his. Louis held his breath and didn’t dare to look anywhere but the wall in front of him. He didn’t understand why the man didn’t follow the unspoken law and instead used the urinal right next to his when Louis was the only one in there and there were five urinals. He didn’t dare ask the man either, in the risk of making the situation even more awkward, instead he just stood there in his silent misery, staring at the wall, waiting for the man to leave. 

When it had been two minutes and neither of them had made a move, the man finally unzipped his fly and started peeing. Louis couldn’t take standing there anymore and in his haste to leave he bumped into the man. The man stumbled and accidentally splashed a little pee onto Louis’ thigh. He was about to yell at the man when he looked up and the words died right in his throat.  _ Harry _ . The singer Louis had been lusting after all night. Harry looked at him awkwardly for a minute before he spoke. “Oops.”

Louis was so dumbfounded that the only thing he could muster up was a shocked, whispered “Hi.”

They stared at each other without breaking eye contact for what felt like ages, but couldn’t have been more than a few seconds. Louis didn’t dare to take a breath, he couldn’t move. It was like he was under a spell where the only thing he could do was stare at Harry. He could've sworn the other boy was under the same spell.

A rustle at the door broke this weird little reverie they’d been in and Louis rushed out of the door. He desperately needed another drink. He’d never had anything stronger than beer so he figured this was as good a time as any to try hard liquor for the first time. He sat at the bar, spending a while trying to muster up the courage to ask the bartender for whiskey, despite his young age and inebriated state. He was just about to throw caution to the wind and flag the bartender down when Harry sat down right next to him. He stared to his right and stared, not so subtly, at the hot bloke.

“I’m really sorry about that whole mess back there, sometimes the adrenaline of performing gives me a little high and I act a bit around the bend. What do you say to me buying you a beer as a peace offering?”

Louis didn't answer right away. He couldn't understand why Harry was even talking to him. He awkwardly just nodded his assent before he blurted out “I'm sure in the future I'll be honored to tell the tale of the night the star of rock and roll accidentally peed on my leg. Birds will fall over themselves to try to buy these pants from me.”

Harry raised an eyebrow at him and flagged down the bartender. He ordered them both a beer and handed one over to Louis. “Tell me, how does a bloke like you end up getting pissed in this bar?” 

Louis put on a mock wounded look. “A bloke like me? Whatever do you mean by that, young Harold?” Fuck.  _ Fuck fuck fuck _ . Louis is fucked. He was flirting. He shouldn’t flirt. He called him Harold, gave him a nickname within minutes of meeting him. He couldn’t flirt, this was gonna end badly. He tried to act like it wasn’t a big deal, like he talked like this all the time. His internal panic got interrupted by Harry’s soft laughter.

“I meant it in the most positive of ways. I've never seen you around, are you new?” Louis detected the tiniest sliver of a smirk tugging the corner of Harry’s mouth.  “And since you seem to know my name, I think it would only be fair for me to know yours.”

Louis took a sip of his beer before he answered. ”Tommo. Louis. Tomlinson. Louis Tomlinson. My friends call me Tommo.” He cleared his throat and continued his answer as nonchalantly as he could. ”I’m from Donny. Doncaster. I’m here to work for the summer.”

Harry smirked again, that tease. ”Nice to meet you, Tommo Louis Tomlinson from Donny,” he winked. Louis gulped. Harry  _ winked _ at him. Louis looked around them to check if anybody had noticed, but no one was paying them any attention. ”Do you perform here often?” He winced at what sounded like a pick up line when in reality he was only curious.

Harry didn’t seem to notice before he answered. ”Got to earn some quid somehow, might as well do it while performing, which is what I love to do. How about you? What do you do?”

Louis looked down at his hands and examined his nails. They were a bit blue after the oil change he’d had to do earlier. ”I’m a mechanic. My uncle owns the car repair shop a few blocks from here.”

He tried to ignore the feeling of the blush heating his cheeks and relied on the only thing he could; his wit. ”Well then, are you from here, Curly?”

Harry laughed. ”I may be curly but at least I’m not a munchkin.” Louis let out a shocked laughter and slapped Harry’s chest. He didn’t have time to think about it too much before Harry looked him right in the eyes and said ”Always been curly and always preferred a little cartso, I’m afraid.”

Louis spit his beer all over Harry. The man laughed and clapped him on the back. After Louis had had time to catch his breath, he noticed that the front of Harry’s shirt was soaked with the mouthful of beer he had spat onto him. ”I’m very sorry about that.”

Harry waved it off with a shrug. ”It’s all right. I’ll just go to the toilets and dry it off a bit.” He got up and walked to the bathrooms. Louis looked around, noting that the bar was deserted, save for the bartender. No one had been paying them attention, not really. It made him feel relieved that their easy banter had gone unnoticed. He felt something wet on his pants and realised that some of the beer he had spilled during his coughing fit had ended up on himself. He got up and walked into the bathroom. 

When he walked in it was empty, save for Harry. His shirt was unbuttoned all the way down. His bare chest in full view. Louis’ mouth went dry at the view. He wanted to taste the skin that he could see and the skin that was hidden underneath his clothes. Harry didn’t notice him until after he'd buttoned his shirt halfway up. Louis couldn’t bite his tongue quick enough to stop the words coming out of his mouth. ”Give me some sugar?” It came out as a whisper, barely audible.

Harry must’ve understood since the next thing he knew was a hand grabbing him and dragging him into the nearest stall. Louis’ back went up against the pipes and before he knew it, Harry’s mouth was on his and his entire body was on fire.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My beta had to step away, so this is edited by myself, so all mistakes are mine, please me nice.

**Saturday, July 2nd, 1966**

Louis tried to look as casual and innocent as he could. He knew his uncle was awake, probably worried about where he’d been all night. His checked his reflection in the rearview mirror of his motorcycle and swore quietly to himself. There was no way his uncle wouldn’t know what he’d been doing. His lips were still swollen, his hair was ruffled and his neck was covered in tiny purple bruises. He took a deep breath and walked into the house.

His uncle cornered him in the hallway. “It’s 2 AM. Where have you been?” Before Louis could answer his uncle took notice in his appearance. “Have you been with a bird all night?”

Louis hesitated. He obviously couldn’t say he’d been snogging a bloke in the bathroom stall of a bar. He nodded. “Yeah, sorry Sam, it won’t happen again.”

Sam looked at him for a while, trying to decide what punishment he was evidently gonna dole out. “Tomorrow is your day off, and you’re going to use it to clean my car. I want it shiny!Your curfew is midnight from here on out.”

Louis sighed. “Yes, sir.”

-

Louis couldn’t fall asleep. He couldn’t stop thinking about Harry. He knew getting involved with a boy would be dangerous, but now that he knew what it felt like to kiss a boy, what it felt like to kiss  _ Harry _ , he knew it was inevitable that he’d go back to the bar. He needed to see him again. He had no idea how he would go about getting into that situation again, but he knew he desperately wanted to.

He had to be a lot more careful from now on. He couldn’t risk getting caught in a bathroom stall with a bloke. His life would be over in a heartbeat. If he wanted this to happen again, he needed a plan. He needed to find a place where he could possibly bring Harry. Where they could snog without the fear of getting caught. Where they could be themselves.

He got up and walked to his into his closet. He had a shoebox of things he’d stacked up high on the shelf, behind everything, hidden in the back. In that box was his journal, where he could express himself as freely. Where he could write down about all his desires. All his secrets laid bare for no one but himself.

He sat down and started writing. He wrote down everything that had happened to him that night, about how good it felt to finally kiss a boy. How natural it had been to him. He wrote about how much he dreamt of a world where it would be possible go steady with a boy instead of a girl and it wouldn't be forbidden. It would be normal. Celebrated, even.

He wrote a poem. It could just as easily be a song. The words poured out of him naturally. He was a songwriter at heart. After he finished writing the last word he felt the exhaustion seep in. He closed the journal and hid it again. He went to his bed and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. 

\---

**Wednesday, July 6th, 1966**

Louis wanted this week to be over as soon as possible. He knew it was only wednesday but he needed it to be Saturday as soon as possible. He was dying with the need to see Harry again. He hadn't seen him since that night at the bar. They hadn't discussed whether they would meet again, but Louis needed them to. 

He knew that there was a chance of seeing him again if he went back to that bar. Harry had said he worked there. He wanted that desperately to be true. He needed it to be true. He needed to feel those lips up against his again. 

He pushed those thoughts away. He was supposed to be focusing on fixing the carburetor but he was too distracted. He was lucky that he could normally do this with his eyes closed, if he wanted to. He'd been around cars his whole life, every summer since he turned 12 years old, he'd had to come live with uncle Sam and worked in his shop. His family always needed the money.

He knew his mom felt bad about sending him away to work every summer, but he knew that if he didn’t do it, they wouldn't be able to afford all of the things they needed during the winter. Things like clothes for school, rent and bills. His sisters always needed new clothes for school and Louis was happy to work every summer so that they could enjoy those things. His mom worked a lot too, but not enough to get them through without a little help. His stepfather did nothing but sit on his ass all day drinking beer, collecting his disability check every month and keeping it all for himself.

In the time since he'd turned 12, he'd grown to love this little home away from home. He always had his own room and his own allowance to go along with his paycheck. His summers were always fun. Sam always made sure Louis had every weekend off to do whatever he pleased. He'd even helped Louis fix up his own motorcycle in his spare time. Louis couldn't have been more grateful. 

Having his own motorcycle always made him feel hip. Like he actually belonged with his group of greaser friends back home. He knew his sense of humor with a combination of leather jackets and black boots would normally do the trick, but his favorite thing was seeing the look on people's faces when he rode it into the school parking lot. It made him feel like he was someone to be admired.

Louis was shaken from his reverie when the bell at the front lobby rang. He looked around and realized he was alone in the shop. Sometimes on slow days, he would be left alone to take care of the small shop, he’d been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn’t noticed when he’d been left alone. He wiped his hands on a rag and walked to the front. His breath got knocked out of him when he saw who was standing there. Out of all the people that could’ve walked into his uncle’s shop, it was  _ Harry. _

Louis decided that his best course of action would be to service Harry as he would any other costumer. “Hi there, how may I help you?”

Harry looked just as startled by Louis as he had been by Harry. “Hey. Is this your uncle’s shop, then?”

Louis smiled. He didn’t think Harry would’ve remembered him mentioning the shop. “That it is. Car trouble?”

Harry cleared his throat quietly before he spoke “yeah, uhh this is kind of embarrassing, but the tire of my car blew out and I don’t know how to change it. I was hoping you could help me with that?”

Louis nodded. “Yeah, today is a very slow day so let me just put a sign in the door and you can bring me to your car.” 

\---

Louis was so sure he could feel Harry's eyes on his bum as he crouched down to take the tire off. He did know he wasn't supposed to like it, but he couldn't help wiggling his bum a little as he stood up. He could've sworn he heard a sharp intake of breath behind him. He rolled the tire to the back of the car and put it in the trunk. “So Harry, what do you do when you're not performing at the bar?”

Harry was blushing when Louis turned to look at him. “I work at a bakery. My grandmother needs help with the deliveries. That's what I was doing when the tire blew out.” Louis just noticed that in the back of the car were a few boxes. They all looked like they could be from a bakery. “Do you help her bake as well? Because I'd love to try some of your buns.”

Harry coughed so hard Louis had to walk up to him and pat him on the back. “Sorry. Maybe I should’ve thought that one through.”

Harry composed himself fairly quickly. He answered with his cheeks burning red ”It’s fine. I’m sure you’d quite like my buns since I have to say, yours are quite fine.”

Louis turned back to the task at hand so he could hide his blush. He put the new tire in its rightful place and started to fasten it with the wrench. When he finished he took a subtle look around to make sure no one would be around to hear them and stood up before he spoke “Harold, are you getting a basket while taking a peek at my dish?” He turned around just in time to see Harry’s eyes move up to his face, his blush even deeper. 

Harry took a quick look around to make sure they were alone, clearly just as concerned about people overhearing them like Louis was. “I have to say, your dish is making me nervous, but I don’t have a basket.” He hesitated for a few seconds before he added ”Yet.”

Louis was just about to answer when his uncle rounded the corner. “Louis, there you are, I was wondering where you’d gotten off to.” He stopped a few feet away from them and pointed at Harry. ”And who’s this?”

Louis tried to look as neutral as he possibly could. ”This is Harry Styles. His tire blew out and I decided to help him change it since there was nothing to do in the shop.”

Sam nodded. “It was nice to meet you, Harry. Louis here has to come help me with something. Right, Louis?”

Louis almost swore. He’d completely forgotten to lock the door to the shop when he left earlier. He knew he was in some deep shit. He nodded and put his hand out for Harry to shake. ”Have a nice day, I’ll see you around, then?” Harry nodded and shook his hand. Louis felt warmth all the way up his arm at the touch. He almost whined when Harry pulled his hand back. Sam took hold of his shoulder and guided him away. Louis desperately wanted to take a look at Harry while he walked away but he didn’t dare risk it. He felt the eyes on his back until he disappeared around the corner.

\---

**Saturday, July 9th, 1966**

Louis was the happiest that he could be now that it was finally saturday. He hadn’t seen Harry since the tire incident on wednesday. He knew how dangerous the situation was getting for them, he knew it was illegal and forbidden, but everytime he tried to think of holding himself back he couldn’t help but get a flashback to the kisses they’d shared in that bathroom stall. They seemed to get along great, as evidenced by the tire incident.

He pulled up to the curb in front of the bar. He saw Harry was out in front of the bar, with a cigarette dangling from his lips and staring intensely at him. He couldn’t imagine what was making Harry so transfixed on him so he got off the bike in what he hoped was a smooth motion and walked up to him. 

Louis took a quick look around and saw that they were alone. He made a bold move and plucked the cigarette right out of the other boy’s mouth and took a deep drag. Harry made a small noise in his throat that sounded vaguely like a muffled moan. He cleared his throat in the hopes to hide how it affected him. ”Hey, you okay? You look a little…. Pale.”

Harry blinked and relaxed his shoulders. ”I’m fine, just a little clanked.” He then ran into the bar with a quick ”See you inside.” and left Louis standing there. He was a bit confused with Harry’s behavior but decided to stay outside to finish the cigarette. Did he go a step too far with plucking the cigarette out of Harry’s mouth in public? 

Harry hadn’t given any signs that he wasn’t as into this as he was. He was very sure that he’d been flirting back the whole time. Louis finished his cigarette and stubbed it out. He walked into the bar and didn’t see Harry anywhere. He sighed, sat down at the bar and ordered a beer. 

When the opening notes of Elvis’s Good Rockin’ Tonight started playing, Louis didn’t think much of it. He was content in just sitting there with his thoughts and enjoying the beer. It wasn’t until the second verse that he realised who was singing.

_ I say, well, meet me in a hurry _ _   
_ _ Behind the barn _   
_ Don't you be afraid, darling _ _   
_ _ I'll do you no harm _ _   
_ _ I want you to bring _ _   
_ _ Along my rocking shoes _ _   
_ _ 'Cause tonight I'm gonna rock away _ _   
_ _ All my blues _ _   
_ _ I heard the news _ _   
_ __ There's good rockin’ tonight

Louis turned around in his seat so he could look at the stage. Harry really did belong on a stage. He also belonged with his back to the wall so Louis could get on his knees and-  _ No! _ Louis refused to let himself think about something like  _ that _ in public. He looked at his watch and saw that the time was only 10PM. He had a couple more hours until he had to be home. A couple hours until he could go to his room and actually let himself think those forbidden thoughts.

_ Well, we're gonna rock, rock, rock _ _   
_ _ Come on and rock, rock, rock _ _   
_ _ Well, rock, rock, rock, rock _ _   
_ _ Let's rock, rock, rock, rock _ _   
_ __ We're gonna rock all our blues away

He song finished with Harry spitting his water all over his small audience of people. Really only 6 or so people occupied the seats around the stage, but they seemed to be lapping it up. Louis caught himself thinking about how he wanted to be the one Harry sang about. He took a sip of his beer and realised it was empty. He turned back around and ordered another one.

”Hi everybody. My name is Harry, and I’ve only got one more song to entertain you with tonight. It’s one of my favorites this summer so I hope you’ll like it. Thank you for listening.”

The opening chords to The Rolling Stones’ satisfaction was a pleasant surprise. Louis loved that song, and he knew Harry was enough of a rock star to pull it off. He settled himself better in his seat to enjoy the performance.

_ I can't get no satisfaction _ _   
_ _ I can't get no satisfaction _ _   
_ _ 'Cause I try and I try and I try and I try _ _   
_ _ I can't get no, I can't get no _ _   
_ _   
_ _ When I'm drivin' in my car _ _   
_ _ And that man comes on the radio _ _   
_ _ And he's tellin' me more and more _ _   
_ _ About some useless information _ _   
_ __ Supposed to fire my imagination

Harry swaggered all over the stage, seemingly having the time of his life. His small audience danced along in their seats. One woman even going so far as to throw a wad of bills at Harry’s feet. Harry crouched down, took the money and threw it up in the air. The 5 bills rained down on him as he rocked it. He took the ladies’ hand and kissed it before walking away to the other side of the small stage. Louis felt a pang of jealousy, and quickly shoved it away. He turned back around and drank his beer in hidden misery.

When the song finished there was scattered applause. Louis figured it wouldn’t have been scattered had the bar been full. Harry deserved a real big crowd who would adore him and shower him with love. He deserved to sell out records by the thousands and have the birds fall all over him for attention. He saw someone sit down next to him in the corner of his eye.

Harry poked him in the shoulder with an elated smile on his face. “So what did you think?”

Louis wanted to tell Harry how much he wanted to throw himself at Harry's feet and grovel for some attention but he settled on saying something a little more appropriate. “I thought that was great! It was real nice!”

Harry's smile grew even bigger, so big it made his dimple appear. Louis wanted to poke it or lick it. He wasn't particularly picky about it. He knew he'd been staring too long when Harry flagged the bartender over for a drink. He had to be more careful. It was hard when there was a really hot and sweaty bloke sitting next to him. 

Louis finished his own beer and decided two were enough. He needed to be able to think before he spoke. He found out last time that alcohol and Harry don't mix all that well when it comes to him. He looked around to make sure no one was listening and whispered in Harry's ear “Meet me outside in 5 minutes.” Harry nodded as he sipped at his beer. Louis walked out the door and into the fresh night air. 

He looked at his watch and saw that it was now 10:38 PM. He had time to enact his plan. A careless and dangerous plan he didn't think of until he whispered to Harry. He sat down on his motorcycle and waited.

Harry walked out of the door and took out his pack of cigarettes. He held the pack out to Louis. “Want one?”

Louis nodded and took one out. The atmosphere around them felt heavy. Heavy in a good sort of way. Heavy in a way that the only way to resolve it would be to kiss each other senseless. He lit his cigarette and leaned on the motorcycle. 

The silence was stretched thick. They'd been standing there smoking for a while and neither had said a thing. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, though. It felt like an interlude to something.

Louis stubbed out his cigarettes and waited until Harry did the same with his. He got on his motorcycle and gestured for Harry to sit behind him. Harry looked like he had to psych himself up before getting on. He gingerly placed his hands around Louis middle. He kicked the engine to life and started driving towards the only place where he knew they could be alone.

When he pulled up to the curb in front of Sam's shop, he felt the anticipation start to creep in. Harry was gripping onto him for dear life. He clearly wasn't used to motorcycles. He cleared his throat and tapped Harry's hands. Harry took a deep breath before he let go and got off. Louis walked up to the door of the shop and took a quick look around. No one was there to see them. He unlocked the door quickly and closed it quietly. 

The air around them was quick to change. Louis grabbed Harry's shirt hard and dragged him into the backseat of the nearest car. Harry fell on top of him with an “oomffp” and they both nervously chuckled. Then there was beat where all they did was stare at each other. Louis surged forward and kissed Harry.

Snogging with Harry was his new favorite thing. The feeling of Harry's lips on his would forever make him feel blitzed. Harry started kissing his jaw and he already missed the taste of Harry's mouth, so he took the other boy’s face in his hands and brought his their mouths back together. Harry kissed him back just eagerly. He let his hands wander down to Harry's waist and then down to his bum. Harry gasped and Louis took that opportunity to start biting and licking Harry's bottom lip. 

Harry's eyes were blown out with lust. His breaths were ragged and it made Louis feel so proud to be the cause of it. He quickly turned them around so that he could be on top of Harry. It was an awkward maneuver in the cramped space in the backseat but they laughed it off and continued sharing kisses. 

When Harry was lying on his back and Louis was on top of him. Harry's waist in between his knees. It took all his energy not to grind into Harry with all his might. He started kissing up and down Harry's jaw and neck. He knew leaving marks on Harry's skin might not be the best idea but he didn't care. He might feel a bit possessive knowing that people would see those marks on Harry's neck and know that somebody left them there. They might not know it was Louis Tomlinson but they would know that Harry was taken. 

Louis had to clamp down on those thoughts right away. They hadn't discussed any of this yet. He decided to lock the thoughts away and focus on making Harry feel good. 

They ended up snogging for a long time. Dry humping like a couple of teenagers. Things might've processed further than that if Louis hadn't chanced a look at his watch.

The time was 12:05 AM. He jumped off Harry like he'd been burned. Harry whined and sat up, confused by Louis outburst. “What's wrong?”

Louis fixed his hair in the rearview mirror as he answered. “My curfew was over five minutes ago. We need to leave, I can give you a ride home but we need to leave now.”

Harry nodded and tried to be discreet as he fixed himself in his jeans. Louis wanted nothing more than to drop to his knees and fix it for him. He shook his head and walked to the door, Harry right on his heels.

 

\---

Louis tiptoed inside and closed the door as quietly as he could. The lights were all turned off so he assumed his uncle was asleep. He hoped he was asleep because that would mean he wouldn’t get caught coming home at 12:48 AM at night.

The light in the hallway flickered on and Louis startled so much he lost his balance and fell flat on his ass. His uncle stood in the stairs with a disappointed look on his face. Louis stood up and decided to try and explain himself. “I’m really sorry Sam, I really am. I lost track of time, and then I had to drop them home-”

Sam cut him off. “Drop them home? Were you with that bird again? That would certainly explain your appearance. Will I get to meet the girl who’s got you so wound up?”

Louis carefully considered his next words. He couldn’t tell his uncle the truth. He wanted to be able to talk about his huge infatuation with Harry, but he couldn’t. He could end up in jail, or worse, dead. “No! I mean yes. I was with a bird and no you can’t meet her. She already has a boyfriend and I know what you’re going to say, what am I doing having an affair with a taken girl but I can’t stop it and oh god if her boyfriend finds out about us he’ll kill me and you can’t-”

Sam stopped him, his lips pressed together as he thought. Louis hoped he wouldn’t question it further because he didn’t know if he could think of any more lies. He was tired and he just wanted to go to bed and think about Harry until he fell asleep. Sam took hold of his shoulder in a comforting manner “Listen Louis, I can’t tell you what to do here, you’re twenty, an adult, but I will tell you this. It won’t end well, you’ll end up with a broken heart and the bird’s boyfriend will also end up heartbroken. So just be careful, okay? Try to put a stop to it, yeah?”

Louis nodded and walked to his room. When he closed the door behind him he let out a sigh of relief. He didn’t even know where the story about an affair came from, but that was the only thing he could think of in that moment. He didn’t want his uncle to see him as someone who helped someone cheat, but it was better than his uncle knowing about his real desires, his real feelings.

He was exhausted. He took his jeans off and threw them into the corner of the room. He wrapped the duvet around himself like a cocoon and fell asleep thinking of Harry’s lips.

\---

**Friday, July 22nd, 1966**

He was late. He was supposed to pick Harry up from the bar 10 minutes ago. He hoped that he would still be there when he got there. They'd been fooling around together for about 13 days now, not that Louis was counting the days or anything. They’d been meeting in secret every chance they had. It felt exhilarating, and dangerous. Louis didn’t even know how that was possible, but he didn’t question it. He knew he’d only known Harry for 20 days in total but he was already falling, and he couldn’t stop it.

When he pulled up in front of the bar he had to physically stop himself from smiling like the cat who got the cream. Harry had been waiting for him. He gave him a pout for being late and then jumped on the bike, settling himself behind Louis. They never said anything until they were alone, people already found it weird how often Louis rode them around on his bike, but they didn’t question it and for that, he was grateful. 

Louis pulled up to the curb, got off the bike and walked into the shop with Harry following after him. They settled themselves on the couch in the break room.  “I'm sorry I was late. Sam needed help with fixing his shelf. I would promise it won't happen again but that would probably end up being a lie.”

Harry waved it off. “I'm not mad. I was worried for a few moments that you weren't going to show up, though.”

“I'll always show up for you.” Louis knew it was sappy as soon as he said it. They hadn't even talked about them. About what they were. He tried to act cool about it, but failing miserably with how much his cheeks burned.

Harry's face lit up. “yeah?” 

“Yeah.”

“We should talk.” Harry said as he played with his hair nervously, looking at everything except Louis. “About us.”

Louis grabbed Harry's hand and held it. He wanted to make his intentions about them clear while he spoke. “I know. I think I like you. No, _ I know _ I like you.” He took a deep breath and felt Harry squeeze his hand encouragingly. “I know this is dangerous and forbidden. We're putting ourselves in danger just by doing this.” He lifted up their joined hands as if to make his point. “but I want to keep doing this.”

He kept squeezing Harry’s hand as he continued on with his speech. “I have honestly never felt this way about anyone before. Being with you is how I think being with girls should feel like. I know it should feel wrong and I know it's illegal but the dangerous thing is, I don't care. I just want to be with you and I know it might be too early to say it but it's true. So what I'm saying is, if you're in this then I am too.”

Harry didn't say anything. He just held Louis’ hand and remained silent. Louis was beginning to get nervous when all of the sudden he had an armful of Harry and felt tears on his neck. 

“I'm sorry. It's just…” Harry squeezed him hard before released him and took both of Louis’ hands in his. “I feel the same way. I want to be with you, too. Can we just enjoy the summer together and think about everything else later? Because I really want to kiss you right now.”

Louis nodded. They both leaned in at the same time and their lips met in a soft kiss. This was the softest kiss they'd ever shared. There was no heat behind it, just a kiss for the sake of kissing. Louis found that he could probably live like this forever. With Harry in his arms, sharing kisses and enjoying each other's presence. He had a feeling that this would be the best summer of his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> basket = bulge through pants/boner  
> dish = bum/attractive male


	3. Chapter 3

**Saturday, July 23rd, 1966**

Louis was the happiest he'd ever been. His uncle lifted his curfew provided Louis agreed to go to his summer cabin and fix up a few things. He had to build a new coffee table and fix a few things on the porch. He even got permission to bring a friend. He wanted to ask Harry to go with him but he didn't really know how. 

Harry poked him in the face. “What are you thinking about so much?”

They'd been cuddling after a particularly heated make out session. Neither had dared to go any farther than kissing, although they knew they both wanted to.

“Nothing important, at least not for now.” Louis said. “Why do you always perform only two songs?”

“Because they only pay me for two songs.”

Louis nuzzled his face into the crook of Harry's neck. “They should pay you for ten songs.” He placed a soft kiss on the side of Harry's neck. “You're so good, I bet you're going to be the next Elvis. No.” he paused. “Better than Elvis.”

Harry chuckled, a shocked sort of laughter. “Better than Elvis? I don’t even think that’s possible.”

”Yes, it is.”

Harry scoffed. ”No, it’s not.”

Louis shrugged and stuck out his tongue, the epitome of adulthood. He kissed Harry on the cheek before settling himself flush against Harry’s chest. Louis was nothing if not a cuddler. He was almost asleep when Harry nudged him in the shoulder.

”I’m bored. I love cuddling but I wanna do something.” He put his finger up to his chin and tapped it a few times. ”How about we play a game of truth or dare?”

”Harry, we’re only two people.” Louis deadpanned.

”So? It can still be fun.”

Louis gave in, it wasn’t as if he had anything better to do, and if he was being honest with himself, he didn’t want to do anything else. If Harry wanted to play this stupid game, then they would. He sat himself cross-legged across from Harry. ”Who’s first then?”

Harry pointed at himself. ”Truth or dare, Lou?”

Louis gave himself a moment to consider it. He was feeling a bit lazy so he decided to go for the option that wouldn’t make him potentially have to get up. ”Truth, bring it Harold, make it good.”

Harry smirked. ”What's the most embarrassing thing you've ever done?”

Louis laughed. “My 11 year old sister walked in on me wanking once. It was horrifying, I think she must be scarred for life. I didn't get a hard on for a whole week after. Right embarrassing.” 

Harry wiped the tears of laughter from his cheeks..”God, if my sister walked in on me wanking I would cry.”

“Tell me about it. Now, truth or dare?”

Harry seemed to consider the options before he settled on choosing dare. Louis had no idea what a good dare would be. He wanted to play his cards right. “I dare you to play the rest of the game shirtless.”

Harry raised one eyebrow. “If you wanted me shirtless you could've just asked.”

Louis waved it away. “Yeah, but it was the only thing I could think of. Now give me a good dare will ya.”

Harry smirked. “Two can play that game. I dare you to spend the rest of the game in just your underwear and jacket.”

Louis scoffed and proceeded to take his clothes off. He was surprised at how comfortable he felt being half naked with Harry. It was like they'd known each other forever. “Truth or dare?”

“Truth.”

“Why did you act weird when I arrived at the bar the night you sang that Rolling Stones song?”

Harry blushed, his gaze shifting down at his hands. “You were driving a motorcycle. It made me flashback to this dream I had.”

A smirk appeared at the corner of Louis’ mouth. “What was the dream?”

Louis didn't think it could be possible but Harry blushed an even deeper shade of red. 

“You were so hot arriving on your motorcycle and in that leather jacket and it reminded me of this dream I had were I sucked off James Dean while he was leaning on his motorcycle.”

Louis raised an eyebrow. “Your sucked off James Dean when Marlon Brando was right there being a much better option for a dream hook-up?”

Harry put a hand on his chest, offended. “Excuse you, James is much fitter than Marlon!”

Louis got up and wagged his finger in Harry’s face, like a mother scolding her kid. “I’ll have you know that one of the best dreams  _ I’ve _ ever had was the dream where Marlon fucked me, not once but  _ twice  _ so i’m pretty sure that Marlon would be a much better lover than a rebel without a cause!”

Harry then got up, indignantly yelled in Louis’ face “Don’t you dare bring Rebel Without a Cause into this!! That movie is the best movie ever made and I won’t have you insulting it!”

“Watch me!”

They stared at each other intently. The tension in the air could be cut with a knife it was so thick. Louis was the first to break. He let himself fall back onto the sofa and felt the laughter bubble out of him. Harry fell on top of him with his own giggles escaping him. 

Louis took a deep breath and whispered secretively into Harry’s ear. “I really did like Rebel Without a Cause, but he still isn’t any hotter than my man Marlon.”

Harry sat up with an ‘AHA!’ But before he could gloat about it, Louis silenced him with kisses. 

\---

**Sunday, July 24th, 1966**

Louis and Harry stumbled in through the door of Louis’ uncles house, out of breath and covered from head to toe in mud and grass. They'd been playing footie at the small football pitch not far from the house. 

Louis was laughing breathlessly while he tried to get his shoes off. “I won. You suck at playing footie, pretty sure you're the worst player I've ever seen.”

Harry shrugged one shoulder and smiled so big his dimple popped out. “I know. But It was fun anyway, got to score a few points.” 

Louis gasped “You did not!!! You cheated!” 

He’d been taking a sip from the water bottle he'd brought with him to the pitch when a ball flew right past his face and into the net behind him. If Harry called that scoring a few points then yeah, Harry scored a few points.

Harry just smirked and continued brushing the mud out of his hair with his fingers. Louis didn't want to admit it, but seeing Harry all dirty like this, covered in mud and sweat, was doing something to him. He really wanted to just pin Harry to the wall and do something dangerous, his uncle be damned.

Harry decided to admit defeat, his hands raised up in the air. “okay fine, you win. I still could've easily won!”

That made Louis laugh louder “Yeah right! You tried, baby, but you failed!”

They were both startled by a throat clearing at the end of the hallway. Louis had forgotten his uncle could probably hear them, and tried to hide his blush by taking off his socks and throwing them at Harry. There was a wet smack when they hit the floor below him.

“Hey!” Harry yelled indignantly. Louis stuck out his tongue.

Sam looked at them with an eyebrow raised. “Louis, you went out to play footie and didn't think to invite your poor old uncle? I'm offended. I could've kicked both your bums.”

Harry snorted. “Louis here thinks that every time somebody scores against him they're cheating so I doubt it'd be fair. He's such a sore loser.”

Louis smacked Harry upside the head. “OI! I am not a sore loser! And for the record, kicking the ball at my head during a break is cheating, you curly haired chickenhead!”

Harry poked Louis harshly in the stomach. “I am not a chicken head!! You like me!”

Louis scoffed “Not anymore I don't!”

Their fight was broken when they heard snickering beside them. They both looked to the side to see that Sam was laughing at them. When he noticed them staring at him he lifted his hands up. “Sorry, sorry. You guys are just hilarious. And pardon me, but have we met?”

Harry stuck out his hand. “Yes, sir. Only once briefly. Louis changed my tire about two weeks back. I'm Harry Styles.”

Sam shook Harry's hands and smiled warmly. “Well it's nice to meet a friend of Louis’, better he spend time with you than that bird of his.”

Harry looked confusedly at Louis over Sam's shoulder and nodded awkwardly at Sam. “Yeah she can be quite the problem, I've heard.”

Sam sighed. “Then you've heard more than me. Are you staying for dinner today, Harry?”

Harry just looked at Louis for an answer. Louis just rolled his eyes. “Yes, but he's gonna have to borrow our shower because he's a dirty boy who smells.”

“Heyyyyy!”

Louis rolled his eyes again and pushed Harry towards the bathroom. “Go take your shower, I'll find something for you to borrow and put it in front of the door for you.” 

“Make sure it's not one of your trousers, they'll look  _ so _ small on me since I'm not a cute little munchkin like you.” He pinched Louis’ cheek and then he shut the door in his face.

Sam started cackling again at the look on Louis’ face. Louis cleared his throat and made his shoulder collide with Sam’s when he walked past him, which only made Sam laugh even harder. Louis gave him the finger and walked up the stairs to his bedroom.

\---

Louis was laying on his bed while he watched Harry go through his record collection. He didn't have that many at his uncle's place but Harry had wanted to see them anyway.

“If you don't have any Elvis then I'm disowning you.”

Louis laughed. “Then I guess you're going to have to disown me. I only have one record and I left it at home.”

Harry stood up and walked over to the bed. He crawled over Louis and brought their bodies flush together. He took both of Louis’ hands in his and put them above his head. “How will I punish you then?”

Louis kicked Harry's legs to get him off balance and then used it as leverage to turn them around so Louis was on top in one quick motion. Harry blinked up at him in shock, unable to speak.

“You were saying?” Louis said with a smirk.

Harry pushed him off and cuddled into his chest. Sometimes he felt like Harry must've been a cat in his past life with how cuddly he was most of the time. It's not as if he was complaining, he loved cuddling. “Harry, I have an idea.”

Harry hummed in response. Louis stroked his curls. “Well…. My uncle has this cabin two hours away. He wants me to go there for him to fix up a few things. I need fix up the porch and put together his new table. I was wondering if you’d come with me.”

“What will your uncle think about us going alone? Two blokes going to a summer cabin alone sounds a bit suspicious.”

Louis sighed. “You’re right. I just really want you to come with me. We don’t have a lot of time left to spend together and I just want to get as much of it with you as I can. I really like you.”

Harry smirked and poked him in the cheek. “Aww you fancy me? That’s cute.”

Louis huffed at him. “I’m not joking.”

“I know. I might have an idea, but before you go and shoot it down I want you to hear me out.”

Louis nodded.

“So, your uncle thinks you have a girlfriend. I know a girl who would play that girlfriend for you if I asked her. She knows about me. She’s been my best friend since we were both wearing nappies. You could bring her here for dinner and have her act like you’re together, then your uncle wouldn’t think about it to much when we go to the cabin together.”

Louis thought about it for a minute. He had to admit it was a good idea. Having a girl to act as is girlfriend would really save them from any potential questions that his uncle might have. He would have to meet her first so they could establish a story that Sam would believe. 

“Okay. I’m in.”

Harry hugged him tighter and nuzzled his face into Louis’ neck. “It’s a plan.”

\---

**Monday** ,  **July 25th, 1966**

Louis walked up to Harry’s best friend’s apartment door and decided a cigarette wouldn’t hurt. He was about to meet his potential fake girlfriend. He knew she’d do it from what Harry had told him about her, but he was still nervous. She would have to act like she was cheating on a bf with Louis and his uncle’s view of her would probably not be a good one, since he despised cheaters.

He took a deep drag and held it in for a few seconds before slowly letting it slip out along with his anxiety. Smoking always calmed him down in these situations. He threw the cigarette to the ground and stubbed it out. He turned around and rang the bell.

The door opened to reveal who Louis assumed could only be Harry’s friend. She had blonde curly hair down to her shoulders and she wore an apron over her pink dress. She greeted him with a welcoming smile and gestured for him to come inside. 

He put his hand out for a handshake. “Hi, my name is Louis.”

She laughed at him and pushed his hand away before pulling him into a quick hug. “I know. Harry won’t stop talking about you,” Louis heard a familiar voice somewhere in the kitchen yelling out a ‘HEY’, she just laughed and continued talking. “He does, anyway, it’s very nice to finally meet you, I’m Bebe.” 

Harry walked out from the kitchen and pushed Bebe aside with his hip. His dimpled smile radiant. “Get away from my man.”

He looked at Louis and greeted him with a peck on the lips, with a loud ‘MWAH’ and Bebe laughed. “Okay, I know when i’m not needed, I’m gonna finish cooking dinner, you two can hang out in the living room.”

Harry nodded at her, grabbed Louis’ hand and dragged him into the living room. They fell into the sofa and Harry immediately cuddled up to his chest. “I missed you.”

“You saw me yesterday.”

Harry scoffed and snuggled even closer. “Yeah, that was yesterday. I still missed you.”

Louis kissed Harry’s forehead and stroked his hair. “Yeah, yeah. I missed you, too.”

They laid there in silence for a bit, just enjoying each other’s company. It was nice to just let themselves be. Louis had a feeling that this is something he could get used to, but he knew they couldn’t be together forever. He was leaving in 16 days. He had 16 more days to spend with the bloke he knew he was falling for. He threw that thought away and stored it in the back of his mind. He focused on stroking Harry’s hair and enjoying the closeness.

Harry shifted so that they were face to face, his head on Louis’ chest. He ran a finger lightly down Louis’ jaw. “I like you like this. Your scruff is so manly and hot.”

Louis blushed and lifted his hand to scratch at the small hairs littering the bottom half of his face. “Oh this old thing? I’ve been too lazy to shave.”

Harry smiled coyly and leaned up to whisper in his ear. “You should keep it.” Then he peppered small kisses down his jaw and neck. Louis’ breath hitched and he took hold of Harry’s face to bring their lips together.

Bebe walked in and hit them with a pillow. “Harry stop sucking your man’s face and help me with the mashed potatoes.”

Harry grumbled and got up. Louis thought he’d heard Harry mumble something about Bebe being a tease and laughed. Bebe smiled and sat down next to him. 

“I know how to make mashed potatoes but it’s never as tasty as Harry does it, it’s like he has the perfect recipe or maybe he just has the magic touch.”

As if he knew they were talking about him, Harry walked into the room with a bowl full of mashed potatoes and held it triumphantly in Bebe’s direction. “Harry’s magic touch has been completed. Dinner is ready.”

Bebe cheered and walked up to the dining table. It had already been set perfectly, with fancy plates and wine glasses. There was a bottle of red wine in the middle of the table surrounded by all the food. Harry and Bebe had cooked smoked ham with a side of homemade mashed potatoes, peas and gravy. 

Louis had to admit he was impressed. The fact that they had cooked something so complicated without any help was something he could never do. He would probably burn down the kitchen if he even so much as attempted it. He sat down next to Harry. “This looks delicious, lads!”

Harry tapped him on the nose. “Just remember to eat your vegetables, sweets!”

Louis picked up a green pea and threw it in his mouth. Then he winked.“You know I always love a good pea!”

Harry choked on his water. Louis patted him on the back in faux-sympathy.

\---

They were sat in a makeshift circle in the middle of the living room floor. Louis sat with his back to the sofa, his feet resting in Harry’s lap. Harry sat across from him and Bebe was sat beside him. They had procured a bottle of Jack Daniel’s from somewhere, he wasn’t sure where from, though.

Bebe took a small sip and put the bottle in the middle of the circle. “I think we should play a game.” She said with a smirk.

Harry nodded enthusiastically. “What game?”

“Never have I ever”

“That sounds fun.” Louis said, “But who should start.”

Bebe cleared her throat and pointed at herself. “I believe the saying goes ‘ladies first’. Never have i ever skinny dipped.” Then she promptly took a sip and handed it to Harry, who also took a sip. Louis did not.

Harry quirked an eyebrow at Louis and he shrugged. “Never had the chance.”

“Never have I ever made out in a hot tub.” Harry said.

Louis took the bottle from Harry and took a big gulp. “Now that’s something I’ve done.”

He offered the bottle to Bebe who shook her head. “I haven’t. Not many chances of getting into a hot tub around here unless you know one of them rich guys.”

Louis shrugged his left shoulder as an understanding gesture and thought about what he was gonna say. He didn’t really know what he hadn’t done if he was being honest with himself. He’d been to so many parties at school and he’d done almost anything he was dared to do. He always had to keep his image as the school’s best and most daring greaser badass to grace the school grounds. 

He smiled, finally having thought of something. “Never have I ever gone down on a bird.”

Harry blushed and took the bottle from Louis. He took a sip and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

Louis looked at him, shocked. “You have?”

Harry shrugged. “I have. It was when I had a girlfriend, we were sixteen and we fooled around a bit. It wasn’t like I was gonna find any blokes to fool around with in Holmes Chapel of all places. Bebe it’s your turn.”

Louis kissed Harry on the cheek as Harry handed Bebe the bottle. Harry’s dimple appeared again. Louis kissed it before settling back against the sofa.

Bebe took a swig of the bottle while she thought of what to say. She looked at Harry with a mischievous smirk “Hey, never have I ever pretended to drown in a pool because I wanted the handsome swimming instructor to touch me.”

Harry gasped, “You swore you would never tell anyone about that!” he took the bottle with an angry huff and took a sip. “You’ll pay for this.”

Louis laughed, punching Harry playfully in the shoulder “Now I’ve gotta hear the story. Please Bebe, tell me the story!”

Harry continued grumbling under his breath and took another sip. 

Bebe started the story, a giggle escaping her. “Harry was 14 at the time, I think. He was here for the summer and he signed up for swimming classes, which was weird because he’s not really into swimming that much. Once I decided to tag along and see why he never missed his practices, he once showed up with the world’s worst cold. That’s when I saw the very,  _ very  _ handsome bloke who was teaching it. He was about 23, I think. Harry here really had no chance but to show up for some good abs to fantasize about.”

Harry was trying not to smile as Bebe spoke. Louis could tell he wasn’t really mad about the this getting out to Louis. He leaned his head on Harry’s shoulder as Bebe continued on with the story.

“One day he comes home from practice and he’s practically floating around. He was like a little child on christmas morning. His swimming instructor had praised him for his diving technique and Harry was elated, so the next day he thought it would be a good idea to try and get the bloke to touch him. So in his 14 year old brain he thought it was a good idea to pretend to drown so the guy could save him and they’d fall in love and be together forever. That’s not what happened, though. Why don’t you tell us what happened, Harry?”

Harry was blushing so hard you would think he'd been pinched in the cheeks. He took a big swig from the bottle before he sighed and continued with the story. “I pretended to drown and he noticed but his friend, a fellow swimming instructor who was probably about 45 years old, jumped in to help me instead. He lifted me out of the pool and held me on the ground for 5 minutes making sure I was okay. It was embarrassing. It was a total bummer in my plans. I dropped out of swimming lessons after that.”

Louis snorted and kissed Harry’s shoulder. “That is the cutest thing I have ever heard. I can just imagine it! You must’ve been so cute.” He pinched his cheeks “And your dimples! The cutest thing about you!”

Harry giggled and swashed Louis’ hands away. “I am pretty cute. Nobody can resist these curls and these dimples!”

Bebe high fived him. “Damn right!”

Harry cleared his throat and looked to Bebe with a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Never have I ever accidentally ate cat piss covered toast.”

Bebe sputtered and angrily took the bottle from him. “You swore you would never bring it up again.” She took three big sips. The bottle was now half empty.

“Okay, I have to know, how does one ‘accidentally’ eat piss covered toast?” Louis asked incredulous.

Bebe groaned loudly as if she were in pain before she started speaking. “When I was in 8th grade we had this cat. She was very much a bitch. She peed on everything, she was going through her teenage cat phase, i’m guessing. One day my mom made me some toast and the first bite was disgusting. I told her it tasted sour, like maybe the bread had just gone bad or something. My mom was already in a bad mood so she told me to eat it anyway, because she bought the bread the day before so it couldn’t have gone bad in one night. So I ate it and then I went up to my room to do my homework.”

Harry was giggling on the floor and Bebe hit him in the chest. “Shut up! It isn’t that funny! Anyway… about two hours after, my mom came up to my room looking very apologetic and she told me that the damn cat had peed in the toaster so she had in fact fed me cat piss covered toast.”

Louis tried and failed to keep his laughter at bay. “Your mom made you eat pee covered toast?”

Bebe nodded and shuddered miserably at the memory, quickly taking another sip of the whiskey.

Harry wiped the tears from the corner of his eyes and took the bottle from Bebe in order to hand it to Louis. “Your turn, babe.”

“Never have I ever shaved my ass.” Louis said and raised the bottle to his lips with a smirk.

Harry tried to look nonchalant as he asked, “You shaved your ass?”

Louis nodded. “Yeah, it feels nice.”

Harry smiled. “That’s hot.”

Bebe took the bottle from Louis and took a sip. “I’m too lazy to play anymore. When are you guys going to your uncle’s cabin, Louis?”

“In about 2 weeks, we’re only staying a few days fixing up a few things for Sam.” Louis answered.

Bebe hummed in answer “Where is the cabin?”

Before Louis could answer, Hary cut in. “Maybe it’s not a regular cabin,” he jumped up onto the sofa excitedly and stood in the middle of it. He started snapping his fingers in a rhythm Louis recognised but couldn’t tell from where, and started singing.

“ _ There’s a crazy little shack just beyond the tracks _ _   
_ _  And everybody calls it the sugar shack _ ”

He jumped back down from the sofa and started shimmying his shoulders as he sang the next lines.

“ _ Well, it’s just a coffee house and it’s made out of wood _ _   
_ _  Expresso coffee tastes mighty good _ _   
_ __  That’s not the reason i’ve got to get back… ”

He danced around Louis in a circle with an exaggerated flair.

“ _ To the sugar shack, whoa baby _ _   
_ _  To the sugar shack. _ ”

Louis grabbed Harry and pulled him down into his lap with a laugh “You are an idiot.”

“Yes,” Harry smacked a loud kiss to Louis’ cheek. “I’m your idiot.”

Bebe was still laughing from her corner of the floor and Louis decided he really liked her. She didn’t seem to mind to be in the presence of two men who regularly engaged in illegal homosexual acts. He was relieved that if he had to have a fake girlfriend, it would be her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chickenhead means somebody you dislike, someone who annoys you. (i'm guessing it was like a pre-school insult)


	4. Chapter 4

**Friday, 29th of July, 1966**

Louis walked into the house after a long day of work. He was soaked through his uniform with sweat from the warm weather outside. He toed off his shoes and walked into the bathroom to splash cold water on his face.

“Louis, that you?” Sam asked from his chair in the living room.

“Who else could I be?” Louis asked.

Sam chuckled. “Good point.”

Louis wiped his face and walked into the living room. Today was the day that Bebe would come over for dinner and he still hadn’t told his uncle about it. He sat down in the sofa beside the armchair.

“So, I was thinking about something.” Louis started anxiously. He hated having to lie to Sam, but he couldn’t tell him that Harry was the one who left hickies on his neck almost nightly, it was better if Sam thought Bebe was the one doing it. Safer.

“You know that bird I’ve been seeing?”

Sam nodded. “The one with the boyfriend?”

Louis grimaced. “Yeah. I invited her over for dinner tonight….Here. With us.”

“Then I’ll make some spaghetti with meat sauce.”

“Thank you,” Louis said and left to go get himself mentally and physically ready for tonight, they really couldn’t fuck this up.

\-----

Louis was putting some finishing touches to his hair when he heard Sam’s voice calling him from downstairs. He sighed before he walked out of his room and down the stairs. Bebe was standing in the doorway with Harry behind her. Louis was surprised to see him as they hadn’t planned for him to show up with her.

“Harry, I didn’t expect to see you here,” Louis said with a smile. He saw his uncle look between them with a confused smile. Oh, right, he had to be straight. He quickly walked up to Bebe and pulled her into a tight hug, he pretended to smell her by dragging his nose up along her neck and up into her hair where he quietly whispered into her ear. “I’m supposed to be in love with you so please, play along.”

He pulled away with his most charming smile pasted onto his face and said loud enough for Sam to hear “Hi, sweets, I’ve missed you.” Then he leaned in and kissed her cheek. He looked at Harry next and saw that he was trying not to pout. He smiled warmly and pulled him into a quick hug. “It’s good to see you, Harry. How’s work?”

“Work is good,” Harry said. “Been singing a bit of Elvis lately.”

“Your rendition of All Shook Up is definitely the best I’ve seen.” Louis complimented.

Harry’s cheeks flushed at the memory of what happened after that particular rendition. That had been the night they met. The night they’d first kissed. Louis smirked at the memory, he knew what Harry was thinking. Bebe cleared her throat and looked over at Sam. “I’m sorry for having to bring my cousin with me, he sort of insisted on coming since he and Lou are such good friends.”

Sam waved it off. “It’s no problem, darling, the more the merrier.”

Louis nodded in agreement and motioned towards the stairs. “Would you both like to see my room?”

Bebe was quick to agree, taking Harry’s hand to follow Louis up the stairs. Sam called after them that dinner would be ready in 15 minutes. Louis just gave him a thumbs up in reply.

As soon as the door to his room was closed, Harry grabbed Louis’ shirt and dragged him into a kiss. Louis responded in kind and held onto Harry’s hips, enjoying every bit of kissing they could get in the next few minutes since they wouldn’t be able to do anything remotely homosexual in front of Sam. Kissing Harry was his favorite pastime, he could do it forever. His lips were so soft and his taste so intoxicating.

Bebe sat down on the bed and waited patiently. Louis would have to buy her some flowers for this, he was practically dry humping her cousin in front of her. He finally pulled away and hugged the other boy closer. They hadn’t seen each other in a couple days and it already felt like too long. He was falling fast, and hard. He pulled back and held Harry’s face softly in his hands. “Sometimes I feel like you’re just too dolly for me, you’re too dolly to be my bone.”

“Dolly? Bone? What does that mean?” Bebe asked curiously.

Harry groaned and let his head fall into Louis’ shoulder, his arms still around him. Louis smiled and looked down at Harry. “You haven’t told her about Polari?”

Harry shook his head, still leaning on his shoulder.

“What’s Polari?” Bebe asked.

“It’s a secret language of homosexuals and others like them, or us, I guess,” Louis replied. “Me and Harry like to use it, because even though our relationship is illegal, it’s nice to have something beautiful connecting us, like this language.”

Bebe smiled warmly, understanding flashing across her face. “So let’s say I wanna learn the language, would I have to be a part of your community?”

“I’m not sure, are you?”

“Am I what?”

“A part of our community.” 

Bebe hesitated before she answered. “I might be.”

Harry pulled back quickly and looked at his cousin in shock. “You are?”

Bebe took a deep breath before she spoke,“I’ve come to realise that I might enjoy the company of both men and women.” 

“Bebe,” Harry sat down beside her on the bed. “You could have told me, you know.”

She smiled with a blush tinting her cheeks. “I know.”

They were interrupted by a knock on the door. “Dinner’s ready.”

“We'll be right down, Sam.” Louis said and turned to give Harry a quick kiss before they went outside of their safe bubble. They walked downstairs and into the kitchen where the small table was modestly set up for dinner. Sam was already sat down on one side and Harry sat down next to him so Bebe and Louis could sit together. They had to keep up appearances.

Louis pulled out the chair for Bebe before he sat down next to her. Sam smiled at them and waved at the food. “Bon appetit.”

Sam waited patiently while all of them doled out some spaghetti bolognese onto each of their plates. He was always so polite, and Louis gave him a soft smile. He never understood how his uncle was so lovable and caring but never put himself out there, but then again Louis had never really done so himself until he met Harry.

“So Harry,” Sam began. “You a big fan of Elvis?”

Louis couldn't helps himself, he lit right up and started talking. “Huge fan, he's been singing Elvis songs for weeks now, little rock star he is!”

Harry blushed. “Yes, sir.”

Sam waved him off. “Don't call me sir, it makes me feel old. Just Sam is fine, kid.”

Harry nodded and focused back on his food. Louis realised he had been acting like a gushing boy over his steady date and he needed to remedy that. He put his arm around Bebe and pulled her closer to him. 

Thankfully she didn't comment on it, just snuggled closer to him in response. Harry narrowed his eyes at them and stuffed his face with a huge bite of his spaghetti. 

Bebe took a graceful bite, then she took a sip from Louis’ coke. Louis quirked an eyebrow and she winked at him in response. 

Sam was grating some cheese into his pasta when he looked up at them and smiled. “Louis, you haven't told me the story of how you met this lovely young bird.”

“Oh it's nothing too fancy,” Bebe said. “This one,” she pinched his cheek and have it a quick kiss. “Was just such a charmer. I was waitressing at the bar and after my shift he just offered me a ride home on his motorcycle. I couldn't refuse.”

Harry was pouting up a storm at the other side of the table. Looking at them, eyes dark with poorly concealed jealousy. 

Louis gave him a reassuring smile. He hated this as much as Harry did, but it had to be done if they wanted to spend 3 nights alone in a cabin in the middle of nowhere together without it seeming too suspicious. And Harry knew that. 

He'd just have to show him how much he cared about him the next time they were alone. 

Harry gave him a small smile back. That was all Louis needed to continue on with this dinner.

\-----

**Saturday, 30th of July, 1966**

Louis arrived at the bar early. He was nervous and excited about what he had planned for Harry that night after his performance. He hoped that it would be good; it'd be his first time doing it. 

He'd never had anybody touch him that way before; and so he had not ever touched anybody like that before either.

Harry was on the stage setting up with his makeshift band, other boys his age that wanted to get some music experience that summer. 

Louis would be willing to bet that he'd been about to sing some Presley. He ordered a beer and then snagged a table in the front row of the stage. Harry hadn't noticed him yet, too busy setting everything up to be perfect for his performance.

He was wearing a pink polka dotted shirt that he must've snagged from Bebe’s closet, paired with some black slacks and brown combat boots.

He looked like a rock star, and Louis could feel it in his bones that someday, Harry would be as big as Elvis Presley, loved by teenaged girls as well as good old country men.

After he'd drunk a quarter of his beer, and Harry had yet to notice him, he decided to play the part of the rowdy menace he was known to be back home. “Get on with it then!!” he yelled.

Harry startled and turned around to look at him so quick that Louis felt like his neck could've easily snapped. A huge beautiful smile lit up Harry's face as he bounded off the stage to give him a quick friendly hug.

“You're early.”

“I am.” Louis replied. He leans in a bit closer so as to not be heard by the rest of the people littered throughout the small bar. “I wanted to see you. I have a surprise for you for later.”

Harry smiled coyly. “Do you now?”

“Yes, siree,” Louis nodded with a smirk. “Now get on with the show so we can,” he looked around quickly and was relieved that no one paid them any attention. Just like always. “go somewhere private.”

Harry nodded and gave him a pat on the back of the shoulder before walking back to the stage. Louis couldn't wait until tonight.

\-----

They stumbled happily into the back of Sam's garage shop and into the break room attached at the lips. Louis slammed the door behind him with the heel of his boot before leading Harry to the small sofa.

Harry dropped down into it with a huff of surprise and Louis used the opportunity to climb into his lap, attacking his neck.

He started leaving wet kisses over all the skin he could reach in between his words. “I… want… to… make you.. feel… so… good…”

Harry moaned loudly and Louis cupped his face with his hands, bringing their lips together again. “Can I make you feel good?”

Harry nodded blissfully. “‘Can do whatever you want to me.”

Louis groaned and attached his lips to Harry's neck again while his fingers slid down to Harry's trousers. He unbuttoned them, moved off of Harry's lap and onto his knees on the floor. He looked up at Harry through his eyelashes. 

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Harry breathed out.

Louis’ fingers were shaky with anticipation and arousal. He took a deep steadying breath and leaned up for some more kisses, gathering his courage. Harry happily complied, and brought him closer.

They kissed for a while, even in this awkward angle it felt like heaven. Louis knew right then that he was ready to do this. He was ready to make Harry feel good. The way girls made his friends back home feel good.

He moved his hand down into Harry's trousers and stroked him through his pants. Harry let out a strangled moan and panted, his head thrown back by the unexpected pleasure.

Louis stroked him a few more times and then got his hand back out. Harry whined at the loss of contact which quickly turned back into a moan when Louis freed his dick from his pants and stroked.

He was completely fascinated by this. Watching his hand on Harry's dick was an experience that he didn't think would make him feel this way. This satisfied. Giving someone he cared about so much pleasure. He wanted to do more.

He looked up at Harry through his lashes and moaned at the sight. He was a complete wreck. His curls were all over the place, and his mouth was open as he panted, even a little drool on the side of his mouth. His shirt had lost a button, and Louis had no idea how that happened.

He looked back down and watched his hand moving clumsily up and down on Harry's dick. This was the hottest thing he'd ever done in his life. He licked his lips and glanced up at Harry. He looked so close.

A made a quick decision and stopped moving his hand for a split second as he brought the dick to his mouth and licked at the head. Harry let out a yelp of surprise and looked down at him in shock, it wasn't a bad kind of shock. It was a kind of shock where you couldn't believe something that good could ever happen to you.

Louis smiled briefly and got back to giving Harry's dick a few licks as he continued to jerk him off. He wasn't ready to have it in his mouth just yet, so he settled for licking it every time his hand moved down sloppily. Harry didn't seem to mind it if his mindless moans were anything to go by.

All of a sudden Harry stilled and Louis was worried something might be wrong. He looked up and saw a shudder move throughout Harry's body before he came. Louis’ face was still close, so the stuff went all over his face, hair, neck and shirt.

Harry laid there boneless for a few minutes while he came down and caught his breath. When he looked down at Louis, covered in his jizz, he was quick to sit up and grab his shoulders. “Oh my god, Louis, I should've warned you. I'm so sorry!”

Louis blinked out of his shock and noted that he was indeed, covered in it. He looked back up at Harry and smiled. “It's okay, love. It happens to the best of us.”

Harry laughed and cupped his face. “That was the hottest thing that has ever happened to me. Thank you.” and then, not caring about the fact that his cum was all over Louis’ face, he dragged him closer and kissed him deeply.

\-----

**Thursday, 4th of August, 1966**

Louis was a nervous wreck. He was pacing around his room, worrying his bottom lip into his mouth and biting at the loose skin so hard it bled a little until the taste of iron filled his mouth. He grabbed his journal and read through his song for the third time in the last 10 minutes. 

He had to finish this. He wanted to give it to Harry at the cabin, so he could finally confess how deeply he truly felt for him. He was in love and all he wanted was to spend at least one night wrapped in passionate lovemaking, with Harry, in his arms. God, he sounded like a bird in those romance lust novels he caught his mom reading one late evening during his last semester at uni.

He sat down at the edge of the bed and looked at his backpack, already filled with enough clothes for the next 3 days and his toiletries, as well as that little something he packed with the hope of having sex with Harry. He was startled by a knock on his bedroom door. 

“Louis, your steady is here, along with her cousin.”

Louis took a deep breath and stuffed the journal to the bottom of his backpack before hastily closing it. He put on his leather jacket, hustled the bag onto his back and walked out the door with an obviously fake smile that turned real as soon as he laid his eyes on his Harry in front of their front door, whom smiled so widely that his cute dimples showed.

He hugged Bebe and gave her a chaste peck on her cheek. “How’re you, love?”

“I’m good, darling,” Bebe answered with a slight blush tinting her cheeks and Louis felt overly fond of her. “Ready to go?”

He nodded as he took her dainty fingers in his and squeezed softly. He turned to Sam and gave him a one armed hug. “I’ll see ya when I get back, Sam, Yeah?”

Sam grunted affectionately and gave him two hard pats on the back. “Have fun, kid.” He nodded to Bebe and Harry before walking down into the living room.

\-----

Louis let Bebe sit in the passenger seat as he drove her home. The silence in the car wasn’t very comfortable, but he didn’t know what to say.

He could feel the heat of Harry’s eyes on him, could feel how badly Harry wanted to kiss him, and he wanted to kiss him back so badly.

But that wouldn’t be possible until they’d arrived at the cabin.

They couldn’t show their affection like that in public. Not like that. They can’t take each other’s hands, can’t give each other little kisses as they part in the streets, can’t say ‘i love you’ in public.

He wanted that so badly.

He hoped Harry wanted that too.

He was broken out of that train of thought by Bebe opening his glove box. “You seriously don’t have any cassettes?”

Louis shrugged. It wasn’t his car, and he had an inkling that his uncle wasn’t particularly fond of listening to anything while driving.

Bebe closed it with a smack. “You should definitely stop somewhere to buy cassettes if you’re going to survive such a long drive.”

Louis pulled over in front of Bebe’s flat. “We’ll keep that in mind, love.”

She leaned over and pressed a quick kiss to Louis’ cheek before doing the same to Harry. “See you soon, lovebirds.”

She disappears into her flat with a cheery wave of her hand. Harry shuffled out of the backseat, moving into the passenger seat. “I wish I could kiss you right now.”

Louis moved his hand to rest it on Harry’s thigh, squeezing softly. “Me too, my darling, me too.”

\-----

Louis had been driving for about an hour when Harry stopped staring pensively out of the window. He looked over at Louis and smiled softly. “Can I sing something for you?”

Louis’ interest instantly peaked. “Please. I love your voice.”

Harry’s smile deepend. He looked back out of the window, Louis thought he was probably just pondering which song to sing.

“ _ Sweet creature _ _   
_ _ Had another talk about where it's going wrong _ _   
_ _ But we're still young _ _   
_ _ We don't know where we're going _ _   
_ __ But we know where we belong ”

Harry stopped singing, his lip trapped between his teeth as he looked down at his fingers.

“Was that-” Louis started. He licked his lips. “Was that something you wrote?”

Harry’s blushing cheeks was what confirmed it for him. He grabbed Harry’s hand, briefly kissing the back of it before letting it go. “It’s beautiful.”

Harry stared at him, lip still trapped between his lips, now pulled in a small smile. He leant back into his seat, looking back out of the window. “You’re beautiful,” He said, his voice almost reverent.

Louis felt like those words enveloped him in a hug, with the way they were spoken. He just kept driving.

\-----

When they arrived at the cabin, it was dark. It seemed nobody had been there for a long while. Louis turned on the lights, shivering at how cold it was inside. Harry walked into the master bedroom, dumping the bags on the bed.

Louis got some firewood out and put it into the fireplace, it’d been a long time since he’d gotten to light a fire, so he took the time to enjoy it. He did it carefully, slightly afraid of making a mistake and burning the place down, like he’d almost done the first time he did this as a twelve year old.

When the fire was strong, he went to the linen closet, taking out two thick fleece blankets and depositing them on the couch. They’d have to sleep in there tonight, while the cabin warmed up.

Harry walked into the room, sitting down on the couch after grabbing a blanket. “Lou?”

“Yeah, darling?”

“Can you finally kiss me now that we’re alone?”

Louis didn’t need to be asked twice, and situated himself right in Harry’s lap, bringing their faces together so that he could finally,  _ finally _ press his lips to Harry’s.

The kiss quickly turned heated, but not so heated as to make them want sex, they just wanted to be close. Like lovers.

Louis ended the kiss, eliciting a whine from Harry’s mouth. “Let’s get into our nightclothes, yeah?”

Harry pecked his lips again before nodding. “Okay.”

They dressed into their nightclothes, aware of the cold air clinging to their bodies. Louis was glad of the carpet in front of the fireplace, placing two pillows down on it. 

Harry laid down on his back, head resting on the pillow. His arms were open, a silent plea for Louis to come to ‘bed’.

Louis laid down, his head resting on Harry’s shoulder. “Good night, darling.”

Harry kissed his forehead. “Goodnight.”

\-----

**Saturday, 6th of August 1966**

The first day had mostly been spent doing the repairs that were needed at the cabin. They built the new coffee table, and repaired the porch. After they’d eaten that night, they’d mostly just kissed until they fell asleep.

Louis woke up on the second day, and he knew today was the day. They’d done all the repairs needed on the cabin, and it was time for him to tell Harry that he wanted to take things further than they’d ever gone before.

Harry stirred in his arms, breathing deeply as he yawned. “G’morning.”

Louis kissed his hair. “Good morning, my darling.”

Harry blinked lazily at him, his smile deep and his eyes soft. “What do you want to do today?”

“Laze about.”

Harry closed his eyes, seemingly to go back to sleep. “Good. Starting with more sleep.”

Louis chuckled, getting an idea that he’d like to try out. “If you fall asleep now, could I wake you up later with my mouth?”

Harry’s eyes opened widely. “You mean-”

Louis nodded, his cheeks tinted pink. “Pleasure you, yes.”

Harry sat up. “I’ll be frank, I’ll have a hard time falling asleep with a stiffy.”

Louis looked down at Harry’s lap, and sure enough, his dick tinted his night trousers. He licked his lips, almost in anticipation. He points at Harry’s lap. “May I?”

Harry nodded eagerly, his eyes wide with lust. “Please.”

Louis laid down on his stomach, his face level with Harry’s dick. He stroked him softly through the fabric, teasing him. Harry’s breathing picking up above him.

He was desperate to taste, to feel the weight of it in his mouth. He gently freed Harry’s dick from the confines of the fabric, and licked at the head. He kept licking, like it was a lollipop.

Harry’s moans were guttural, deep. Louis took just the head of it into his mouth and sucked, making Harry moan louder. He pulled back to keep licking at the head, gathering the pre-cum on his tongue, enjoying the salty taste of it. 

He jerked it with his hand as he kept sucking at the head, and when Harry’s whole body tensed, he knew to be ready for it.

Harry’s cum filled his mouth, and he swallowed it on instinct. 

He was shocked when Harry immediately pulled him into his lap and shoved his tongue in his mouth, but welcomed it nonetheless. 

\-----

It was midday, and Harry was tuning the guitar he’d found in one of the rooms in the cabin. Louis loved listening to him play as he cooked their early dinner.

Harry started playing a song that Louis hadn’t heard before, and humming it under his breath. 

“What song is that?” Louis asked.

Harry looked up fast, as if startled by his voice. “It’s uhhh, I think I finally figured it out.”

“Figured what out, love?”

“The chorus,” Harry said, still focused on moving his fingers on the guitar’s neck. “Listen.”

And then he started singing as he played. 

“ _ Sweet creature, sweet creature _ _   
_ _ Wherever I go, you bring me home _ _   
_ _ Sweet creature, sweet creature _ _   
_ __ When I run out of road, you bring me home ”

Louis could feel it, now. The love. He was in love with Harry. He turned around again, stirring the pasta sauce to distract himself from the overwhelming feeling of love. “I love it. Sing me something more?”

Harry didn’t answer, just started playing a familiar tune on the guitar. 

_ “Oh, my love, my darling _ _   
_ _ I've hungered for your touch _ _   
_ _ A long, lonely time _ _   
_ _ Time goes by so slowly _ _   
_ _ And time can do so much _ _   
_ _ Are you still mine? _ _   
_ _ I need your love _ _   
_ _ I need your love _ _   
_ __ God speed your love to me”

Louis was overwhelmed. He turned off the stove. He wiped at his face, could feel the tears start to fill his eyes. He turned around and looked into Harry’s eyes. “I love you.”

Harry’s fingers stilled on the guitar. He blinked, tears welling up in his eyes as well. “I love you, too.”

Louis almost stumbled on top of him in his haste to bring their lips together. He chanted soft I love you’s into Harry’s mouth, cupping his face in his hands.

“Wait,” Harry pulled back, removing the strap of the guitar off his shoulder, putting the guitar down onto the floor. “Now come on.”

Louis attacked his mouth with even more fervor. He had no idea how long they sat there, sharing kisses in the glow of the midday sun. he just knew that the halo it cast down upon his lover’s face as they kissed was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. He pulled back eventually, the growl in Harry’s stomach making him aware of how hungry he was himself. 

“Let’s eat cold tomato pasta, huh?”

Harry nodded. “As long as you made it, I’ll eat anything.”

Louis kissed him again, just because he could, then he said “I love you.” again just because he could.

Harry’s dimples seemed to be etched permanently into his cheeks. “I love you.”

\-----

After dinner, they reconvened on the couch, watching the calming way the fire ate at the firewood, listening to the calming crackling of it.

Louis rested his hand on Harry's shoulder, enjoying the intimacy of the moment, their palms pressed together in his lap.

He squeezed Harry's hand softly, smiling when he felt him squeeze back.

“Harry?”

Harry gave his hand another soft squeeze. “Yes, baby?”

“I want to make love,” Louis rushed out, biting his lip in anticipation of Harry's answer.

He felt the kiss that was placed on the top of his head. “We should probably go to bed, then, baby.”

Louis nodded, not letting go of Harry's hand as they walked to the bedroom. He felt all jittery and nervous now, his stomach full of butterflies and soft love.

Harry looked uncertain as they stood there together, in front of the bed, facing each other with only their hands connected.

“Is it normal to be this nervous?” He asked, palm turning sweaty in Louis’ grip.

Louis couldn't help the slight giggle that escaped his lip. “I'm nervous, too. This is my first time, really.”

Harry lets out a sigh of relief. “Mine, too. We can be nervous together, right?”

“We can,” Louis agreed. He took off the sweater he was wearing, suddenly feeling hot all over. Harry watched him, his eyes trailing whatever movement his hands made.

He fiddled with the fly on his jeans, pulling the down with a slight chuckle. Now he was left only in his pants and a white shirt.

Harry was still staring. Louis kissed him, lightly, while he helped him out of his cardigan. Harry's trousers were so tight that Louis had trouble loosening the button. Harry giggled against his mouth.

They both pulled back, loving smiles on their faces. Harry popped the button on his trousers, a slight smirk appearing at the right corner of his mouth as he slid them off. He stepped out of them along with his socks. He left his black shirt on, as well as his pants.

He sat down on the end of the bed, his legs still on the floor. “How do we do it? I mean, how do two blokes make love?”

Louis went to rifle through his bag. “We use Vaseline. One of us has to be on the bottom. I was hoping that could be me?”

He based it like a question, even though it felt slightly more like a statement.

Harry waited patiently until Louis made a sound of triumph, turning around to show the tub of Vaseline in his hand. “How? Won't it hurt? I don't want to hurt you.”

Louis shook his head. His cheeks flushed pink as he played with the Vaseline tub in his hands. “It won't hurt. Maybe a slight burn, but that's it. I've sort of tried it with my fingers.”

Louis watched as Harry's eyes went almost black with lust. “You've used your fingers on yourself?”

“Yeah,” Louis flushed even deeper. “And now I want your fingers. And maybe your-” He felt immature by not wanting to say the word. “You know.”

“I know,” Harry said, his throat bobbing as he swallowed. “How do you want to start?”

Louis walked over, putting the tub of Vaseline on the nightstand before he climbed into Harry's lap. “Kiss me.”

“I can do that,” Harry said. He cupped Louis’ face in his hands, stroking along his cheekbones. “I love you.” He murmured softly; claiming Louis’ mouth with a kiss.

He felt his nerves calm down as he felt Harry's arms around him. His kisses always felt like home, just as his arms did.

Somehow he knew that even if their first time turned out to be some kind of a disaster, it would still feel like being home, because it was with Harry.

And Harry was his home.

The breath was knocked out of him when Harry picked him up and threw him gently down onto the bed before crawling on top of him. He connected their lips again, massaging his tongue with his own.

Louis dug his fingers into the fabric of Harry's shirt. If Harry's kisses got him so worked up, how would it feel to have him like that? Deep inside of him?

He wanted to find out. Wanted to be connected to him in that way.

“Harry,” Louis whispered against his mouth. “Make love to me. Please.”

Harry pulled back, his lips kiss swollen, pink and glistening. “Yeah.”

He pulled of his shirt, quickly getting rid of it by throwing it onto the floor. He helped Louis out of his own, softly kissing his collarbones as soon as they were exposed.

“Darling,” Louis giggled. “That tickles.”

“These are just love tickles,” Harry said as he kept kissing up his collarbones. “Just means I love you.”

Louis melted into the mattress. “Please.”

Harry kissed him one more time before he reached for the vaseline. “Are you sure, baby?”

“As sure as I'll ever be in my entire life.”

Harry nodded, stealing a kiss. He coated his fingers in the stuff, grimacing at the feel of it. “Are you sure? It feels a bit sticky.”

“It is a type of gel, darling,” Louis whispers, his voice soft from the amount of love he feels for the man sitting on his thighs. “It'll feel better as it warms up, and it helps the glide of your fingers feel good.”

“I've never used it before,” Harry paused. “Well, not for sex.”

Louis leaned up, kissing Harry again. He just couldn't stop kissing him. He took his pants off,, leaving him naked and exposed to his lover's eyes.

Harry's mouth dropped open a little as he took in the sight. “You're beautiful, baby.”

Louis kissed him. Harry kept kissing him as he brought his hand down, circling Louis’ rim with his index finger.

He massaged it for awhile before he pressed his finger inside. Louis only tensed for a couple seconds before he relaxed. “Keep going, darling, I'm okay.” 

He slowly started to thrust the finger in and out, and Louis immediately felt like it was too little. “Add another finger, please, love.”

Harry's finger froze. “You sure?”

Louis nodded, kissing him again. “When I finger myself, I sometimes end up using three fingers, ‘cause I like the stretch.”

“Oh my god, Louis,” Harry moaned brokenly. He cautiously dipped another finger in the next slow thrust. Again, Louis only tensed for a few seconds before relaxing into it. “That feels good, darling.”

Louis felt Harry's fingers graze at that sweet spot inside of him, and he let out a soft moan. “Keep rubbing there.”

“There?” Harry asked as he grazed over it again.

Louis could only nod. It felt nice, and he knew he'd come soon if Harry kept rubbing it like that. “Add another finger.”

This time Harry did without asking if he was sure. Louis smiled against his lips as he felt all three fingers enter him in the next thrust. This time he felt a slight burn along with the thrust, and it took him a little while to adjust to it and for his body to relax.

Harry had stopped his fingers, keeping them inside him as he waited for something. Louis realised he was waiting for Louis to say if it was okay. “I'm fine, darling. Keep going.”

Harry started up his slow fingering, and Louis felt the burning stretch again. It wasn't very comfortable, but it wasn't entirely unpleasant either.

Harry kept kissing him through it. Louis loved it. “I love you,” He murmured against his lips. “I'm ready.”

Harry's fingers froze on their way out of him. “Are you-”

“If you ask me if I'm sure again I'll smack you,” Louis said, a teasing giggle leaving his lips right after, letting Harry know he wasn't really serious.

He gathered Harry into a tight hug. “It's okay if you're not ready for this. You know that right?”

Harry's arms tightened around him. “I want to make love to you.”

Louis laid back and opens his legs wide. “Make love to me.”

Harry smiled as he grabbed the Vaseline again. He took his pants off, revealing his hard dick. Louis kissed it, jokingly saying “Hello, old friend.”

Harry's laughter crackled out loudly, happy and free. Louis knew his plan to ease some of the nerves worked.

Harry coated his dick in the clear gel, grimacing at the feel of it. He laughed softly. “Still feels weird.”

Louis just smiled. He brought Harry closer, attaching their mouths once more. He felt Harry situate his dick at his rim and all he could feel was the anticipation of the feeling it would bring.

Harry pushed in slowly, almost too slowly. Louis could feel the slight burn of it, but this time it felt sort of pleasant. His focus was mostly still on Harry's lips, the smooth way they slid against his.

Harry pulled back from the kiss when he was fully inside. “I feel so connected to you. So close.”

Louis’ eyes welled up. “I love you. So much.”

Harry chuckled through his own tears. “I love you.”

Then he started to move his hips slowly, and Louis felt so good. He felt the tingles down to his toes. Even though Harry wasn't hitting his sweet spot yet, it still felt incredible.

Harry kept their lips attached, licking and biting at Louis’ bottom lip. 

Harry changed the angle of his thrusts slightly, making Louis let out a loud moan. “Oh darling, right there.”

Harry smiled down at him and kept at that angle, his dick stroking his sweet spot perfectly.

Louis couldn't control it. His eyes rolled into the back of his head, his toes curling as he came. White come shooting out at their stomachs.

Harry kept up his slow thrusting. Louis grimaced. “It kind of hurts now.”

Harry immediately extracted himself. Louis brought him into a deep kiss as he pulled him off with his hand.

Harry came a minute later, all over Louis’ fingers.

Louis was tired and sated, so he snuggled up to Harry’s chest, not caring about their come being all over them. He fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dally = pretty (polari)  
> bone = boyfriend (polari)


	5. Chapter 5

**Sunday, 7th of August, 1966**

Louis woke up to the sun shining in through the window, right into his face. Harry’s arm was slung around his middle, and his dick was digging into his back.

He thought he would have to wake up a sticky mess, but as he rubbed a hand down his belly, he found nothing but smooth, clean skin. He smiled, thinking of how wonderful his lover was, having cleaned them both up before he joined Louis in dreams.

He reached for the Vaseline resting on his nightstand, opening it and coating two of his fingers in it. He moved a tiny bit forward, out of Harry’s space, as he fingered himself open. He moaned softly, as to not wake Harry up until he was ready.

He found that that would be very soon, as he was still quite loose from their love-making the night before. It made him smile just thinking about it. 

He was ready, he leaned back into Harry’s space, jostling him on purpose in the hopes that it would jostle him awake. No such luck. He grabbed the Vaseline again, coating Harry’s dick with it. He didn’t want to do anything until Harry awoke though, as he wasn’t sure if he’d be in the mood.

He elbowed Harry in the stomach, sofly enough that it wouldn’t hurt. “Harry, darling?”

Harry groaned into his pillow. “M’sleep.”

Louis pressed his bum into Harry’s crotch. Harry let out a deep groan as he thrust back. Louis grabbed Harry’s dick again and jerked it slowly. “Want you to make love to me, again.”

Harry’s arms came you rest around Louis’ waist, dragged him even closer, making Louis lose his grip on his dick in the process. Harry stroked his waist, trailing it down and towards his bum, his hand stilling at his rim. “You already prepared yourself?”

“Yeah,” Louis moaned. “I want you.”

Harry stroked his dick, making sure it was slick enough before he positioned it at his rim. Louis held his breath, as the want enveloped him. He was ready to beg. 

Harry entered him slowly, lovingly. Louis grabbed the hand that was around his waist, linking their fingers tightly together. “Stay still for a moment, want to remember this feeling.”

“Okay, baby.” Harry whispered against his skin, leaving trails of bruises on Louis’ neck and shoulder. Louis wished he could stay in this moment, savor it, have it pressed into his mind forever.

This was the happiest he’d ever been in his life. 

“Can we do it slow?”

Harry nodded against his shoulder. “Yeah, baby, we can do it slow.”

He started rocking his hips in slow, deep thrusts. The drag of him felt amazing. They stayed there, in the glow of the morning sun, for the whole morning, until noon, just making love.

Kissing. Talking. Being.

And it was wonderful.

\-----

Louis sat naked at the small kitchen table, watching his equally naked lover cook their breakfast. He felt a delightful soreness in his bum, and the reason he found it delightful was because he could still feel it. The love they had shared as they connected, bodies and souls.

He knew he was being sappy, but he was allowed to be, when someone he loved so dearly, shared that love back.

He got up and circled his arms around Harry’s waist. “You know how you wrote me something?”

Harry nodded as he kept frying their bacon. “Yeah?”

“I’m writing you something too,” Louis confessed. “In my journal. It’s not ready, yet, but it will be. Soon.”

Harry was smiling, looking down at the pan as a tiny blush swept across his dimples. “I’d love to hear it.”

“You will, darling.”

Louis kissed his neck, before he walked back to the table. He could picture their future so easily, or at least what it could potentially be. Early morning sex, breakfast at noon, writing each other sweet poems or songs. He was hopeful that maybe, just maybe, that future could be a reality. Someday.

\-----

“I don’t want to go back.” 

Louis looked up at his lover, sitting on the bed as he watched Louis pack his backpack. “Me neither, darling, but we have to.”

“I know,” Harry said, a pout pulling at his lips. Louis kissed it away, would always try to kiss it away. “It was just so nice to be here, where we could be free.”

Louis didn’t know how to answer, because he agreed. They had to go back, though. They both had their work obligations in the morning. 

“We’ll come back here, someday.”

“You promise?” Harry’s eyes were so full of hope, and Louis was sure he’d do anything to stand by his words. “I promise, darling.”

\-----

Not being able to kiss Harry goodbye in the car as he dropped him off at his flat earlier had felt horrible. They’d been spoiled by the weekend, and Louis would definitely be showing up at the bar to see his darling sing after work the next day.

Sam was sitting on the sofa in the living room reading a book when Louis walked through the door, dropping his backpack on the floor and sitting down next to him with a deep sigh. “I’m exhausted after this drive, huh.”

“I believe that,” Sam chuckled. “I also believe those bruises on your neck may have exhausted you.”

Louis rubbed at his neck, blushing deeply. “Well, yeah, Bebe went a bit crazy.”

Sam just nodded, patting him on the back. “Thank you for doing the repairs for me.”

Louis waved him off. “You’re welcome, Sam.”

Sam pushed at his shoulder. “Go get some rest.”

“I will. Goodnight, Sam.”

“Goodnight, son.”

\-----

**Monday, 8th of August, 1966**

Louis closed the door quietly behind him after yet another late night with Harry. He was leaving in a few days and after their trip to the cabin, they spent almost every single available moment together. He tiptoed into the kitchen and got himself a glass of water. Every time he and Harry were together, it felt like time was suspended, and all that mattered was them. He was pretty sure Harry was the love of his life.

Sam walked into the kitchen and pointed at the clock. It was 2 AM. Louis shrugged, unashamed. He knew it was obvious what he'd been doing, and he wasn’t ashamed of it. His lips were swollen, his hair a mess and there were fresh purple bruises marking his neck. Harry had just looked so beautiful, singing the song he’d written for Louis on the small stage, in front of everyone in that bar.

“Louis, can I ask you something?”

Louis nodded wordlessly as he took a few more sips of his water.

Sam looked uncomfortable so Louis knew whatever he was about to be asked, it wasn't good. 

“Are you and Harry….” He stopped and cleared his throat. “Are you and Harry more than just friends? It's just... You've never told me anything about Bebe and you spend all your time with him. You took him with you to the cabin, and I didn’t want to mention it earlier, but I saw Bebe at the grocer’s while you and Harry were at the cabin. She tried to explain it, and I wanted to believe her, I really did, she’s just not a very good liar. I just want to know, are you guys fooling around? You know….. with each other.”

Louis spat out his water as he coughed, he had a hard time catching his breath. He was so scared. Had he really been so damn obvious? Was he bad at hiding it? He was so sure he’d been careful. He even made up a fake name for his fake girlfriend’s fake boyfriend. He got Bebe to act like his girlfriend, for fuck’s sake. He really didn't want to lie to Sam anymore. He hated lying. 

Sam was the closest family he had besides his mother. He really did love his sisters but he didn't think he could just walk up to them and say he made out with his friend Harry on a daily basis. He was so scared, but he decided to go for the hardest option and settled on telling the truth. He let out a shaky whispered “Yeah.”

His uncle didn't react like Louis thought he would. He stood up, walked to the cabinet, got a bottle of whiskey and instead of getting a glass, he took a sip straight from the bottle. He walked back to the table and sat down. He gestured for Louis to sit down across from him. “Okay.”

Louis sat down across from Sam and stole a sip from the whiskey. It burned on its way down his throat and in that moment in time he welcomed it. He needed something to focus on other than his uncle's face.

His uncle stole the bottle back and took two big sips before he started speaking. “So let me start by saying that I knew something was going on between you and Harry that day I overheard you two bicker in the hallway. You called him ‘baby’, and it wasn't just a joke between two mates. It was more than that. And before you start panicking too much, don't worry. I accept you.”

Louis would be lying if he said he wasn't holding back tears right then. He let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding. He looked at his uncle for the first time since the conversation started. He nodded for his uncle to continue, too speechless to answer.

“The reason I'm not against queers is a long story. There was a time where I thought homosexuality was a sin and a disease that needed to be rid of or cured. It makes me ashamed to think of that time of my life. If I’m honest, I was a very hateful human being when it came to that. Then the war happened and I joined the army. You know that I'm not very fond of talking about my time during the war so what I'm about to tell you is something that I've never told anyone, not even your mother.”

It seemed that Louis was in a permanent state of shock. Every time he’d asked Sam about the war in the past, he had always clammed up and changed the subject. Now that he was actually going to hear something about it, he listened with rapt attention.

“During training I met a young man, he was two years older than me. His name was Charlie. Both of us had the same mischievous nature and cheeky humour so we often teamed up to boost the morale. We pulled some pranks here and there and quickly became very good friends, I think it’s safe to say he was my best friend. We played some poker with a bag of chips and some playing cards, that was our favorite way to pass the time. That bastard always won, don't know how he did it but it was a pain in my ass, losing my favorite chips every single time. And he’d always shove it in my face by eating them in front of me.

After training we were both sent to the same army base. We even had to bunk in the same tent, which obviously wasn't a problem for us since we were best mates. One day when our first batch of letters came, he started crying after reading his letter. When I asked him what had happened he let me read it. It was a letter from the love of his life, her name was D. I assumed it was a nickname, that her name was Danielle or Daisy or something like that.

The letter said that D finally got the dog they always wanted because if she couldn't get Charlie to boss around, a dog would do the trick. The reason Charlie cried was that it just hit him then that we really were in a warzone and that he missed her terribly. He just wanted to go home and be in her arms.

Whenever a new letter came, he would let me know what it said. He knew I loved hearing about D. Their love was so deep that you could feel it with each and every letter. My favorite story was about their first kiss and the time D broke her ankle and refused to see a doctor until Charlie physically forced her. 

Then one day something bad happened. Our base was attacked and Charlie got shot in the stomach. I wasn’t about to abandon the only friend I had left so I stayed with him. I tried to stop the bleeding and tend to the wound. Charlie was whispering about how I needed to tell D something. I told him he needed to shut up and heal up so he could tell her himself, but then he grabbed my jacket and drew his face up to my ear, and he whispered to me that I had to tell D that he loved him.”

“Him?” Louis asked. “You mean he was like me?”

“Yes, Louis, you heard me right,” Sam said, an almost wistful smile on his face as he talked. “Charlie’s D wasn’t a Danielle or a Daisy. I asked Charlie what he meant by ‘him’ and before he died, he managed to tell me that he wanted me to find David for him. That encounter forever changed my way of thinking. Those letters were a testament of how love knows no bounds, or gender. Love is love and I want you to know that you’ll always have a safe space in my house. You and Harry do not have to hide while you’re here, not from me. I still love you, son. You’ll always be welcome here, no matter what.”

Louis didn’t know when he’d started crying but he couldn’t stop. He felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He was completely and utterly speechless. He got up and hugged Sam as hard as he could. Sam hugged him back just as tightly. He stepped away after a while and wiped his tears away with the back of his hand before sitting back down. 

“What ever happened to David?”

Sam got up and got a postcard. He handed it to Louis to inspect. It had a picture of a city in Norway and on the back of it, it was addressed to Sam with only one sentence written. _ I am safe in Norway and I hope you’re feeling well. Love, D _ . Louis noticed that the letter could only be a few months old. He looked at his uncle and waited for him to start speaking.

“After I got discharged, I knew I had to keep my promise. I waited while my leg healed up and then I went to Wales, that’s where Charlie grew up. He and David were childhood sweethearts, so I knew the most likely place to find David was in that small town in Wales. I found him in a bar down the street from my hotel. He was the saddest man I’d ever met at the time. He’d lost the love of his life and I sometimes wish I could go back in time and take that bullet for Charlie, if only to give them the life of happiness they deserved. I walked up to him in the bar and told him I was a mate of Charlie’s from the war. He immediately knew who I was because apparently, Charlie wrote quite a bit about me in his letters. 

David took me to his place and got us some tea. I gave him all of the letters he had sent to Charlie. I saved them for him just in case their families didn’t know about them, which was a good thing. I also knew saving those letters would insure that the army wouldn’t know about him. He really broke down completely after seeing the letters. I ended up staying with David for about a week, he needed the company of someone who understood the level of his grief. Most of the people in town just thought he was grieving a best mate, a brother of sorts, but he couldn’t tell them that he was grieving his life partner of 7 years. They’d been together since they were fifteen. 

I sometimes call up to check on David but he prefers to be left alone most of the time. I do believe he’s been seeing someone new for the first time in years, so I think he’s doing good. I’ll tell him about you, and maybe if you want to, I can set up a conversation with him for you. I’m sure it’ll do you some good to talk to someone like you, someone who understands you better than anyone else can. 

I’m sure talking to Harry is all good and comfortable, but you’ll probably need advice on how to keep it hidden, I’m just guessing here, but I’m assuming Harry’s just as new about this as you are?”

Louis nodded. He felt really overwhelmed with all this new information. He also felt thankful. The fact that he wouldn’t have to sneak around in the back of his uncle’s shop anymore was the best news he could’ve gotten aside from being so accepted by him. He could be himself openly in this house. He’d already felt at home here, but knowing that he had this immense support, was the most grounding feeling he’d had since he realised that he was queer. 

“Thank you, Sam. Really.” He walked up to his uncle and gave him the tightest hug he’d ever given anyone in his entire life, putting all of his relief and gratitude into one hug. “Thank you. I need some space to process so I’m just gonna go to bed.”

Sam clapped him on the back and squeezed his shoulder. “Just don’t have sex here while I’m home. Don’t wanna hear you.” He said before walking out of the kitchen and into his own bedroom.

Louis stared after him with wonder in his eyes. He really barely knew anything about his uncle, but now that he knew everything, he finally felt just a tiny bit free.

\-----

**Tuesday, 9th of August, 196**

Louis finished the last oil change of the day, sweaty from the sun, and achy in his arms from all the work. He was excited for be done for the day, as Harry was coming over to his house.

He couldn’t wait to be able to kiss Harry freely in his house, without having to worry about being seen by his uncle.

He smiled to himself as he got on his motorcycle, revving up the engine before taking off down the street, fast and eager to get home.

Harry was sat on his porch when he pulled up. “Hazza, you’re early.”

“I’ve been waiting all day to see you, baby.”

Louis looked around anxiously, worrying about the neighbors. As if he was reading his mind, Harry said “Your neighbors left ten minutes ago, no one here to hear me call you baby, baby.”

Louis got off his bike, walking towards Harry at a fast pace, he opened the door eagerly. “I’ve got something to tell you, my darling.”

“What is it?”

Louis shoved Harry up against the door as he closed it, reaching up on his toes to drag Harry into a deep kiss. “We can kiss as much as we want in this house.”

“Oh, yeah?” Harry said. “Is your uncle not coming home?”

“He is,” Louis said, between kisses. “But he said we can be who we are in his house.”

Harry stopped kissing back, when looked opened his eyes and took a good look at him, he was pale. “He found out, I didn’t tell him about us, I promise, darling, but he’s safe. He said he supports us.”

“How can he?” Harry asked, his voice small. “How can he? When the whole world sees us as illegal perverts?”

“Because he knows better, he doesn’t think we’re like that.”

Harry was biting his lip, and Louis gave him his time to think. “You’re sure?”

“Yes,” Louis said, firmly. “We can trust him, just like we can trust Bebe.”

He grabbed Harry’s hand, dragging him up to his room so they could spend some time together, without worry, without fear.

He planned to reassure his lover with kisses, really show him how safe they can be in Sam’s house.

\-----

He was sitting at his desk, Harry on the floor going through his records, when Sam knocked on his open door. “Hey lads. Harry, are you staying for dinner?”

Harry looked up, startled. “Uhm-”

“He’s staying, yes, thank you Sam.”

“Good to know, son,” Sam replied, smiling at them knowingly. “Spaghetti or pizza?”

Louis looked towards Harry, who was bashfully staring at the floor. “I’m thinking pizza, what about you, darling?”

Harry just nodded, adding a soft ‘Thanks’ towards Sam, who just nodded his head back before walking away.

“Your uncle really is okay with us. He didn’t flinch when you called me darling.”

Louis got up, briefly kissing Harry’s lips. “Told you. Now sing me something, rock star!”

Harry giggled. “Something like what?”

“Surprise me, darling.”

Harry got up, playing around with the sleeves of his cardigan as he thought. “Okay, I know.”

_ “Love me tender, love me sweet _

_ Never let me go _

_ You have made my life complete _

_ And I love you so” _

Harry opened his arms, letting Louis step into them, swaying together as he sang softly into his ear.

_ “Love me tender, love me true _ __  
_ All my dreams fulfill _ __  
_ For my darling I love you _ __  
_ And I always will _ __  
_ Love me tender, love me long _ __  
_ Take me to your heart _ __  
_ For it's there that I belong _ __  
_ And will never part _ __  
_ Love me tender, love me true _ __  
_ All my dreams fulfill _ __  
_ For my darling I love you _ _  
_ __ And I always will.”

He trailed off then, cupping Louis’ face in his hands. “You’re the love of my life. You know that, right?”

Louis kissed him, hard. “You’re mine too. I’ll never stop loving you. I wish I didn’t have to go home on Sunday.”

Harry squeezed their bodies tight together. “I wish for that, too.”

\-----

**Wednesday, 10th of August, 1966**

Louis laid on his bed with his papers, trying to perfect the song that he wrote for Harry. Making sure it was perfect for him. He felt like it had to be perfect.

He sighed in frustration, crumpled up yet another paper and threw it in the bin in the corner. The bin was covered in crumbled notes. He was having a hard time writing because he didn’t want to leave. 

“Louis, can you come downstairs for a minute?” Sam yelled from somewhere downstairs. 

Louis welcomed the distraction and walked down the stairs to see Sam standing at the telephone. He put his hand on the receiving end of it. ”What’s going on?”

“David is willing to talk to you right now if you want to.”

Louis nodded and took the phone. He was a bit nervous. He took a deep breath and imagined the nerves leaving along with his exhale. ”Hello?”

A deep chuckle emanated from the other end. ”No need to sound so terrified, Louis, I don’t bite.”

David’s voice was not at all like Louis imagined it. He’d imagined it to be a bit higher and softer, something that would go with the image he had of him in his head but his voice was deep and rough, like caramel. It had warmth to it, too and Louis instantly felt at ease.

”I don’t really know what to say, if I’m honest.”

”You could talk about anything really. Sam told me that you’re seeing a boy, you could tell me about him. I’m sure you’re dying to gush about him to someone who isn’t your uncle.”

Louis smiled as images of Harry flooded his mind. David was right, he’d been dying to talk about Harry to someone other than Sam. ”His name is Harry and he’s the most beautiful boy I’ve ever seen in my life. When he smiles, it’s like it lights up the room. He’s perfect.”

David hummed, listening with rapt attention. ”How did you meet?”

”We met at a pub that he performs at every weekend and oh my god, David, his voice is the most amazing thing I’ve ever heard. He’s going to be famous, he just belongs to the stage, the way he owns the crowd. We met in the bathroom when he accidentally peed on me. I let him buy me beer as a consolation prize.”

David laughed, loud and boisterous. ”He  _ peed _ on you? How do you accidentally pee on someone?”

Louis shrugged, even though he knew logically, David couldn’t see him. ”He’s just a clumsy little shit. Later that night we made out in the bathroom for an hour.”

”He sounds amazing. He also sounds pretty cute.”

”Oh he’s the cutest. Did I mention he’s got these really soft curls. I love running my hands through them.”

”Charlie was the same. He had these blonde curls that framed his face perfectly. I loved laying my cheek on his head whenever we hugged or cuddled, I was taller than him so it worked out great.”

Louis couldn’t help but smile at David’s voice, it was so fond and loving while he talked about Charlie. He wanted to hear more. ”What was he like?”

David took a while to answer, deep in thought. ”Charlie was the kindest person you could ever meet. He was the type to help old people cross the street and cry when he’d find dead birds on the ground. He had the cutest freckles everywhere on his body. He was also very charming and mischievous, all the girls in our classes completely adored him. His biggest charm, though, was the pranks he pulled. He pranked everyone, even the teachers. He once filled the boys’ locker room lockers with bird feathers, it was the funniest prank he’s ever pulled I think. All those football player’s freaking out. He didn’t get caught, although everyone assumed it was him, rightly so.”

Louis laughed, he’d have to steal that idea for his own school’s football team. He needed to see those player’s faces. “He sounds like he was a legendary person to be around, I would’ve loved to have met him.”

“Yeah, he really was.”

”Sam told me that his favorite story that Charlie ever told him, was the story of your first kiss. Was it a good first kiss?”

David laughed at the memory. ”Oh yes, Charlie had the perfect plan. We were 15 and we were having a sleepover. We were just lounging about in his room reading comic books when he announced that he was bored and wanted to do something bold, so he went downstairs and stole his dad’s beer. He stole the whole six pack of beer, not just the one bottle. We were halfway through it when he wanted to play truth or dare.”

”Oh don’t tell me he dared you to kiss him!”

“No, I didn’t want to play and he got mad so I shut him up by kissing him.” David sounded so smug that Louis couldn’t help but laugh. 

”How did he react?”

David snorted. ”He got mad that I made the first move. He’d planned his move perfectly and then I went and ruined it by kissing him first.”

“What was his first move going to be?”

David chuckled. “He was going to dare me to kiss him during truth or dare.”

“And you totally stole his thunder, I love that.” Louis cackled. He calmed down, pondering whether he should ask the question or not. He decided to just go for it. “Do you think me and Harry can make it work long distance? I’m leaving in four days, and I don’t want to lose him.”

“I’m sure, that if you’re truly in love, everything will work out,” David said. “I’ve got to get going, gotta make dinner for my husband.”

“You call him your husband?” Louis couldn’t help but ask.

“That’s what we call each other in private,” David said warmly. “It’s what we are to each other.”

“That’s beautiful,” Louis whispered. “It was very nice talking to you, David.”

“You too, Louis,” David replied. “Don’t be a stranger.”

And then the line went dead. Louis put the phone back down, smiling softly to himself. Talking to David gave him so much hope that one day, he and Harry could live together, as husbands.

\-----

**Thursday, 11th of August, 1966**

Louis was exhausted. He’d had to change so many tires, it was like a curse. His back ached, and the only thing he could do was pass out on his bed as soon as he walked in through his bedroom door.

He jostled awake by Sam’s voice. “Son, your mom’s on the phone.”

Louis groaned as he got up. “Is everything all right?”

“I think so,” Sam replied. “But she needs to talk with you urgently, she said.”

Louis grumbled to himself as he slunk down the stairs and towards the phone. He brought it to his ear. “Hey mum.”

“Louis, you need to come home.” Jay says on the other line. “Today, please.”

Louis felt like she’d poured a bucket of ice cold water down his entire body at those words. “Why? What’s wrong?”

“It’s Mark,” Jay said, as she burst into tears. “He left, Louis, please come home. I need you here.”

Louis knew he needed to go. “I’ll be there as soon as I can, I just gotta pack and take care of some things before I leave.”

“Thank you, love,” Jay said as she sniffled. “I love you, babe.”

“I love you, too, mum.”

He hung up and burst into tears. Sam was quick to bring him into his arms. “What’s wrong, son?”

“I have to leave, now,” Louis said through his tears, almost choking on a sob. “I have to say goodbye to Harry. Oh god, Harry.”

Sam held him until he was able to calm down, softly stroking his fingers through Louis’ hair. “It’ll be okay, Louis.”

“Okay,” Louis took a deep unsteady breath. He walked into his room and packed all of his things as quickly as he could. Everything only fit into a backpack. 

As he was about to leave his room, he noticed the piece of paper he’d been having a tough time scribbling on. He grabbed his pencil and let everything he was feeling onto the paper.

_ Can't believe i’m packing my bags _ __  
_ Trying so hard not to cry _ __  
_ Had the best time and now it's the worst time _ __  
_ But we have to say goodbye _ __  
_ You were my summer love _ __  
_ You always will be my summer love _ __  
__  
_ Wish that we could be alone now _ __  
_ If we could find some place to hide _ __  
_ Make the last time just like the first time _ __  
_ Push a button and rewind _ __  
_ Don't say the word that's on your lips, don't look at me that way _ __  
_ Just promise you'll remember when the sky is grey _ __  
__  
_ 'Cause you were mine for the summer, now we know it's nearly over _ __  
_ Feels like snow in September but I always will remember _ __  
_ You were my summer love _ _  
_ __ You always will be my summer love

Louis knew it wasn’t perfect, nor finished but he knew it was enough. He grabbed his journal and ripped out the other poem he’d written and finished while at the cabin, the one he’d promised to show Harry after it was finished. 

He read over it, making sure it was okay.

_ People say we shouldn’t be together _ __  
_ Too young to know about forever _ __  
_ But I say they don’t know _ __  
_ What they’re talking about _ __  
_ 'Cause this love is only getting stronger _ __  
_ So I don’t wanna wait any longer _ __  
_ I just wanna tell the world that you're mine, darling _ __  
__  
_ They don’t know about the things we do _ __  
_ They don’t know about the I love you’s _ __  
_ But I bet you if they only knew _ __  
_ They would just be jealous of us _ __  
_ They don’t know about the up all nights _ __  
_ They don’t know I've waited all my life _ __  
_ Just to find a love that feels this right _ __  
_ Baby, they don’t know about us _ __  
__  
_ Just one touch and I was a believer _ __  
_ Every kiss it gets a little sweeter _ __  
_ It’s getting better _ __  
_ Keeps getting better all the time girl _ __  
__  
_ They don’t know how special you are _ __  
_ They don’t know what you’ve done to my heart _ __  
_ They can say anything they want _ __  
_ 'Cause they don’t know about us _ __  
_ They don’t know what we do best _ __  
_ That’s between me and you, our little secret _ __  
_ But I wanna tell 'em _ _  
_ __ I wanna tell the world that you're mine, darling

_  
_ _ Baby they don’t know about us _

It would have to do, he folded them up and put them into his back pocket. All he felt as he said goodbye to his uncle was dread, he was really started to think of this place as home, but it was time. 

He hugged his uncle tightly before he left, giving him a wave as he got on his motorcycle, starting up and not looking back as he drove away.

He was lucky that wasn’t stopped by any cops on his way to Bebe’s flat, with the way he was speeding. He parked his bike haphazardly, jumping off of if quickly and running up to the door, ringing the bell repeatedly until it buzzed to let him in.

Bebe stood in the doorway, in her nightclothes. “What’s going on?”

“Bebe, who is it?” Harry’s voice asked from the living room. Louis bypassed Bebe completely as he ran right into Harry’s lap, crying into his neck. “Harry. Hazza.”

Harry’s arms were tight around him. “What’s wrong, baby?”

Louis pulled away, trying and failing to keep from sobbing. “I’m leaving.”

Harry’s eyes widened. “What are you-”

“Mum called,” Louis interrupted tearfully. “I’m going home now. My stepdad left her, she needs me, Hazza, and I don’t want to leave you.”

Harry hugged him tighter, almost too tight. “You will be here next summer, right, baby?”

Louis nodded into his shoulder. “I think so.”

“Don’t worry about it then, baby, we’ll meet again.” Harry said, letting his own tears escape. “God, I’ll miss you, baby.”

Louis brought their lips together. “I love you, my darling.”

“I love you, too, Louis,” Harry said against his lips. “My love for you won’t wane as I wait for next summer.”

“Next summer,” Louis whispered. “Okay.” They kissed for a few more minutes. Louis stood up, and walked towards the front door. He got the papers out of his back pocket. Harry stood in front of him, his beautiful face streaked with tears. “I love you, my darling.” He took hold of Harry's hand and closed it around the papers. Then he kissed him one last time, before he walked out of the door. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, i can't believe i managed to finish this fic! It's been a year since i started it, and i'm so happy with how it turned out. I really hope you liked it as much as I did!

**Author's Note:**

> Cartso = Dick/penis in polari
> 
> quid = money (obviously probably)


End file.
